Joy

Scripture Lessons: Zephaniah 3: 14-20 and Luke 3: 7-18 Sermon Title: Joy Preached on December 12, 2021 There he was at the river Jordan, and first he calls the whole crowd a “brood of vipers.” Not many pastors would think it wise to begin the sermon that way, but that’s what John the Baptist does. Then, the crowds asked him, “if that’s who we are, what should we do?” John the Baptist cuts right to the chase and speaking again in this 21st Century from the ancient Scriptures, this morning to us he says, “Be careful about wanting more. It’s dangerous! It can lead you to do questionable things and wanting more can keep you from being satisfied with what you have already.” That’s timely advice, right? Most every child I know has a list that keeps getting longer. I can understand that. They got a catalogue from Target back in October. They circled what they wanted. That’s a fun thing to do, but this habit gets dangerous when our children grow up into adults who still think that things will make them happy. Or, who grow up into adults who feel that enormous pressure to provide more for their family than they had, then work to fulfill their every want and desire, and are tempted to cut corners or even ignore their moral compass to get them what they think they want. This is the Christmas trap: relentless want. We see something in each other’s faces this time of year as we all fall into it. Behind every Christmas card smile is this looming anxiety. Mixed in with every Christmas cookie is a wonder if it’s good enough. We shop and order and wrap, while worrying: “did we get the right thing? Will this make him happy?” My friends, today, to us and to our children, John the Baptist says: “Enough already.” Is this how Jesus would want us to celebrate his birthday? Did the Prince of Peace come to fill us with anxiety? Of course not, so stop it. Consider what you have. Be careful about wanting more. Don’t ask Santa for another coat. Go in your closest and if you’re lucky enough to have two, then give one away. Don’t work so hard for more money. If you have $1,000 in your bank account than you’re better off than most people in this country. And stop thinking about what else you want, especially if how you’re going to get it is questionable. This is a good message from John the Baptist, because it’s a message we all need to hear. Like everyone else in the 21st century, we live and breathe in a consumer culture. People are encouraged to covet what their neighbors have. We’re pushed to want more and more. More is supposed to be better, but where does wanting more get us? Well, if we can’t get it under control, it robs us of our joy. Then, as Christians who are called to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must ask, where does our “more” come from? Last Sunday the newspaper covered a story of modern-day slavery. Did you see it? Migrant workers were encouraged to move to Georgia to harvest onions, only their work visas were held by the management, so they couldn’t leave. They were living behind a barbed wire fence and were being paid pennies a day. Two died on the job. There was little to no access to food or safe drinking water, and it was happening in our state, not 150 years ago, but just last week. Then, maybe you’ve heard about our boycott of the winter Olympics in Beijing. Have you? If you google “slavery in China,” you’ll read headlines, asking, “did an enslaved person make your smart phone?” for according to authorities on the subject, right now 3.8 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery in China. “Enough already,” John the Baptist said. Then the people asked him what they should do. To the crowds he said, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” To the tax collectors he said, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed to you.” To the soldiers he said, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation and be satisfied with you wages.” To the consumers he said, “Don’t make getting a good deal on something matter more to you than the welfare of the people who made it.” Don’t allow your desire to have trump your commitment to decency. Especially, if you have enough already. It’s like a story I heard once that Dr. Fred Craddock told. Dr. Craddock is one of the truly great preachers. He taught at Candler School of Theology on the campus of Emory University, then went to live up in Ellijay, but he used to like to eat at the Waffle House. He said, “The Waffle House is a good place to go get a BLT. You have to take a shower after, but it’s a good place to get a BLT.” Well, once he was at the Waffle House. Waitress came up and he ordered a cup of coffee. Dr. Craddock asked for cream, and she patted down her apron and said, “I can never find anything in this capricious apron.” “Capricious?” Dr. Craddock repeated. Then she threw out six creamers on the table. He took two and pushed the four back toward the waitress, but she pushed them back towards him, saying, “Better to have and not need than need and not have.” Thinking to himself, “first capricious and now this,” he asked, “Well, are you a waitress or a philosopher?” Then he said, “But best is to take what you need and give the rest away.” Enough already. Do we not have more than we need? And what is our thirst for more cheap plastic stuff and bright shiny technology pushing us towards? Is our desire making us indifferent to the welfare of our neighbor? Is our desire making us blind to what God has given? And what has God given? A Son. So, slow down for a minute, and listen to God’s promise from Zephaniah one more time: I will save the lame. I will gather the outcast. I will bring you home. And will change your shame into praise, for joy is within your reach if you would just let go with all your desiring of stuff and enjoy the people around you. For even if you forget the almond paste in your Christmas cookies, Or notice that your husband has something in his teeth for your Christmas card picture, Even if you, like my Uncle Al did years ago, forget to take out the bag of giblets before you bake your turkey, and even if a dog named Snot is hacking on a bone under the table during your Christmas dinner, what makes Christmas Christmas isn’t the perfect table or even the perfect meal, but the people sitting at the table with you. However, what John the Baptist is pointing out is that sometimes we push those people away with our desire. No one was inviting the tax collectors over for dinner. Do you know why? Because they were shaking down their neighbors, calling it taxes but lining their pockets. And no one was happy to see the soldiers coming because they abused their power. Likewise, how hard is it to give mom a hug when she seems to care more about what the people who will be receiving the Christmas card will think of her than how the people in the picture feel? And how hard it is to rejoice with dad when he can’t stop stressing about getting the lights to twinkle on the tree? My friends, the perfect Christmas will always remain out of our reach because we’re not capable of perfect. That’s how we know it’s not required: because it’s not possible. However, joy is right within our reach if we would just give up all our reaching. We must let go of our desire for the perfect Christmas to embrace the people we’re celebrating Christmas with. Don’t reach t for more, for if you have enough, more won’t make you happy, gratitude will. Don’t compare yourself to your neighbor, for comparison is the thief of joy. Stop worrying over how everything looks. Relax into the joy of this season and focus on the gift that’s being given to you. For born unto us, the High King of Heaven who gathers the outcast shepherds to the manger and spends his whole life welcoming strangers into the family of faith. So, sing aloud, O daughter Zion, shout, O Israel! Rejoice with all your heart, for the Lord, your God is in your midst. And he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love. The King is coming. The Lord of all is in our midst. Gather some people to celebrate his birth with you, and if you let that be enough, joy will live in your heart always. Amen.