What If Christmas Came in the Summer?

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
Mark 1: 1-8, Rev. Marianne Niesen, July 20, 2008

 

Let me begin today’s sermon the way I began my sermon last year, on our first Christmas in July celebration - by asking the question whatever possessed us to have a Christmas in July in the first place? Doesn’t feel like Christmas. And, except for our Christmas tree and our attempts at Christmas decor, it certainly doesn’t look like Christmas. The idea for today’s service actually came from our Finance Committee. As they have been involved in doing what Finance Committees do - reviewing our financial health - they were struck with two things. First, the ongoing generosity of the people of St. Paul’s continues to be inspiring. We have increased our mission giving and our involvement in ministries beyond ourselves. That is all good news. And second, as was true last year, our monthly giving to the fund that pays the monthly mortgage for this beautiful building - does not keep up with what we need. We have some reserves - so we are making our payments each month - but eventually, that will not be the case. Reserves only last so long. So we mused about what we might do that would be a creative and fun way to raise awareness about our building fund needs. We considered that Christmas is a time people are often unusually generous and it occurred to us that it would be nice to have two seasons like that.

So, we tried it last year. And, frankly, our 2007 Christmas in July was fun - in fact one visitor that Sunday commented that she had never had so much fun being asked for money! And, besides the fun of it, some people caught up on their building fund commitments and others gave special gifts - much like we do at Christmas. It all helped. And, let me remind us again that, the largest part of our mortgage is actually a loan from Intermountain - the mission and ministry that serves hurting children and families. So, when we pay our monthly mortgage (of $25,000+), we are not just paying for this building . . . even our interest is doing good! It is an amazing arrangement and is something to celebrate any time of year.

After our Finance committee decided we should do Christmas in July again this year - the Stewardship Committee took over from there. They secured the Christmas tree - which is no small feat in the middle of July - and came up with the idea of the green envelopes. They are sponsoring the poinsettia contest. They talked to the fellowship people about having Christmas goodies during the fellowship hour. The hope, of course, is that this will be another enjoyable experience - like it was last year. But, I want to be up front that the bottom line is that Christmas in July at St. Paul’s is an invitation to generosity - to benefit our building fund and food share. As you know, we also invited us all to bring non-perishable food today. If there is one thing we are committed to at St. Paul’s, it is remembering that whatever we do, it is not only about us - it’s about how we make a difference in this community and this world of ours. We never want to forget that challenge.

Now, it is one thing for the Finance and Stewardship and Worship Committees to plan and pull off a Christmas in July celebration. It is quite another thing for the preacher to figure out what on earth to say about it all. Beyond the practical part of things - that is, what I’ve already said - what might a Christmas celebration in the middle of summer mean? There aren’t exactly any scripture texts that automatically lend themselves to this! After some pondering and praying, I was inspired by a Biblical figure who usually appears during Advent, just before Christmas - John the Baptist. As you probably remember, he’s the cousin of Jesus who became a desert preacher. While Jesus was busy being a good Jewish son and learning carpentry with his Dad in Nazareth, John left home, took to eating bugs and living in the desert. His parents must have wondered what they did wrong. In any case, when I thought about Christmas in July, it occurred to me that you could make a case that John was the one who called for the original Christmas in July. They didn’t call it ‘July’ then - and the term ‘Christmas’ wasn’t yet used. Still, it was John who knew the need for a new season of hope in the world and who challenged people to look for it, to prepare for it, to be ready. You see, long before Auntie Mame sang the song about the ‘need for a little Christmas right this very minute,’ John the Baptist told the people who gathered at the river . . . I know just what you all need . . . you need a little Christmas . . . you need a little hope . . . you need a new way of seeing . . . you need a bit of vision . . . and you need it now! It’s coming, he promised, look, listen, be ready and follow the one who is to come. Listen now to this text from the first eight verses of Mark’s gospel. (from The Message)

The good news of Jesus Christ - the Message! - begins here, following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

Watch closely: I'm sending my preacher ahead of you;

He'll make the road smooth for you. Thunder in the desert!

Prepare for God's arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!

John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey. As he preached he said, "The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will change your life. I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism - a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit - will change you from the inside out."

Those are the words with which Mark’s gospel begins. Mark doesn’t recount any story of the birth of Jesus. There are no shepherds or stars or dreams or angel choirs in Mark. There is no frightened young girl nor uncertain fiancé. In Mark, it all starts with this guy, John, a preacher ‘in the wild.’ In other words, in Mark’s gospel this is the Christmas story. This is the beginning of the ‘good news’ or the ‘message.’ Now, if I told you that in December, you wouldn’t like it one bit. John is a figure we hear about at Christmas because he ‘prepares the way’ and that is what Advent, the season before Christmas, is all about. But no matter how hard we try, John is a Christmas figure who doesn’t seem to fit the spirit of the season in December. So we preachers do our best with him in December but mostly he’s an interlude or, even, an embarrassment. But, in July? Think about it. This is John the Baptist weather - sunny, warm, an occasional storm. This is the season we like to hear about a guy who makes his living at the river.

And that is exactly where he was, as the world continued to wait for something to change, for a Messiah. Have you ever thought about why all those people met John in the desert? Easy - because he was at the river! If people were in the desert, that’s what they stayed close to - water. The river would have been where people met other people in the desert. So, if a person had a message, that’s where they would have gone to share it. That’s where John was. Some of the people to whom he preached may have come just to see John but I’ll bet most did not. There were people just passing through. Others may well have been spiritual seekers, going to the desert for what people have always gone to the desert for - to pray, to reflect, to get away. Some were maybe running from something or to something. Some were riffraff. Some were good people having a hard time. No one was there ‘vacationing.’ They were there for a reason. John met these travelers and seekers in the midst of the desert and offered them the blessing of water - a significant gift in the desert. And with the water, he offered hope. He got their attention and then said - life can be better, will be better. They listened. How? When? Where? That’s when they heard the rest of the story. John’s prophecy.

There is one coming. Soon. He will lead us. John probably thought, at that point, that the one coming, the Messiah, would lead them in an uprising. He would violently confront Roman occupation and the corruption at the temple. But whether or not that is true, the hope he offered did have a price . . . the one coming would change life as people knew it . . . from the inside out! The reason John the Baptist came to be considered a Christmas figure over the years had nothing to do with the birth of a baby. It was because he clearly pointed to the hope and challenge inherent in the coming of a very adult Messiah. He quoted Isaiah . . . God is coming! Make the road straight and smooth! But that’s not all he did. He comforted people with water and told them things had to change - at that moment. In them. In Mark’s gospel, that’s what set the stage for the ministry of Jesus. In Matthew and Luke, it began with a birth. In Mark, it began with a baptist named John. (And that wasn’t his denomination, it was his work!)

Let’s face it . . .who wants to hear that kind of message in December? Who wants to deal with change in December? We don’t really like change much at any time but we for sure don’t want it at Christmas. That’s when we like things ‘the way we remember them.’ An ‘old fashioned’ Christmas, a tree in the same place every year. We like Christmas carols - the familiar ones, not the new ones and not Advent hymns that talk about this John the Baptist stuff - preparing the way or changing our lives to get ready. I could preach a whole sermon on that theme! The fact is that John is rather irritating as a Christmas figure because right at the time people want to think of love and joy and stars and Magi and babies and angels, this underclad, underfed, desert preacher appeared with a very irritating message - about change. Following the Messiah will change your life - and that will be hard - but its our only hope! It was a desert hope - rough, rugged, challenging, life changing. And, that is the fundamental message of Christmas. God-with-us, Emmanuel is a God who gets so close even the animals move over. It’s hard to hear the challenge of that message in December. But - this is July. This is John the Baptist weather. This is his season. And how we too need to hear his message and grasp his hope.

We are living in a world and at a time John the Baptist would understand. Things are hard. Gas prices are high. Inflation is serious. Money is not going as far as we’d like it to go. There is war. People are hungry. And the natural tendency at times like this is to hunker down, play it safe, close in, take care of ourselves - go into a ‘desert’ time. And right there, we meet the Baptist who still proclaims - despite everything, keep hope alive! Follow Jesus! Do good! Even now!

Remember, things were bad in first century Israel too. The economy was bad, taxes were high, leadership was lacking and much of it corrupt, the Romans were overbearing, there was corruption in the temple. Things were hard. And John said, yeah, I know all that - first, change your life. Do what’s right. Get ready. For God will not leave us alone. Fundamentally, John spoke out of a deep faith in the power and presence of God. From what we can tell, he waited for the immanent coming of the Messiah as he challenged people to live in readiness. To do the right thing. To keep the vision of new life and hope alive even though the present life was rough.

Here’s a deal for you . . . if you promise to consider the Baptist’s challenge this July, to do what you can to live as people of hope, I won’t even bring John the Baptist up this December! We’ll just remember together that we considered these things in July! Deal? May the spirit of Christmas - hope in the midst of hardship, joy in the face of fear and generosity despite anxiety be the gift we receive and the gift we offer.

For, indeed, we need a little Christmas, right this very minute!

(For our readers: Pam Ponich will sing We Need A Little Christmas from Mame to end the sermon.)