January 1, 2023 John the Baptist Matthew 3

             Not all that many hours ago people were wishing each other, “Happy New Year!” and then we come to worship and hear John the Baptist say, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  Well, ‘Happy New Year to you too, John the Baptist!’

The thing is, I believe John’s repentance message can put us on the right track for the new year.  I think we can get at that by looking at a very famous person this time of year, although a fictional person, Ebenezer Scrooge.  He is certainly an example of repentance.  But it is important that we understand the true nature of his repentance.

Here is what it is not.  This is a Facebook post by Daniel Williams that has been going around recently.

Every single major life trauma to happen to Ebenezer Scrooge happened at Christmas time: his parents abandoned him at boarding school, his fiance left him, his beloved sister died. It's not like Ebenezer just woke up one day hating Christmas - it's painful for him, and so he does what a lot of us do: he ignores the pain, he tries to keep the painful reminders of his own loss at bay. So of course he gets upset and lashes out when other people (unknowingly) insist on reminding him of his trauma by telling him he *should* be in the Christmas spirit. Then what happens? An old friend recognizes his maladaptive strategy and forces him to get help from experts who allow him to: first, confront his past traumas; second, recognize other, healthier ways of coping with them; and, finally, understand the probable consequences of continuing with destructive strategies designed to avoid hurt by avoiding human relationships.

A Christmas Carol isn't a story about how you're so much better than the mean rich person. It's a story about how anyone, even the rich and powerful, can struggle with trauma.

Um, no.  Wrong.  If it’s been a long time since you’ve read Charles Dickens’ book, A Christmas Carol, or if you’ve never read it at all, I encourage you to do so.  It’s relatively short.  Lots of interpretations and adaptations have been made to it.  I think if this Daniel Williams reread the original story he’d realize just how wrong he is.  It is the right interpretation of the story that gets us to where John the Baptist is.

If you know the story well then you know that early on the ghost of Scrooge’s former business partner comes to Scrooge and warns him that he needs to change is ways or suffer the consequences.  Scrooge rejects this notion.

The first ghostly visitor, the Ghost of Christmas Past, shows Scrooge several scenes from his past.  We learn that Scrooge was indeed abused by his father and neglected as a child.  But we also learn that there were significant improvements in his father.  We learn that Scrooge had a fiancé who genuinely loved him and cared for him.  In the early days of their relationship Scrooge was loving in return.  But over time he began to distance himself from her and went down a path of greed.  She only leaves him when she realizes that despite her ongoing love, he has chosen earthly wealth over human relationship.

By the time Scrooge is done with his time with the second ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Present, we realize that Scrooge has had a change of heart.  He has decided to change.  He has decided to become a better person.

Dickens could have left the story off there.  It would indeed be the story of a rich and mean old man who has a change of heart because, and Daniel Williams says, he has seen the probable consequences of continuing with destructive strategies.  If that were the case the story would be no different than hundreds of other stories that show up on the Hallmark Channel.  If it were that sort of story it would have been forgotten in the dustbin of sentimentality over 150 years ago.

But Dickens continues the story.  There is one question remaining.  That question is, why has Scrooge changed?  If he has changed because he recognizes there will be dire consequences if he does not change, then his change would merely be a strategic move for his own ultimate gain.  But if he has changed because he has truly become a better person, then his change will not have a strategic benefit.

This is the part that Daniel Williams gets completely wrong.  Enter the third ghost.  As the ghost shows Scrooge horrific things in the future that happen to a dead person Scrooge eventually comes to realize that the dead person is him.  And he asks the ghost repeatedly -he even pleads with the ghost to know- can he, by making changes in his life, change the course of the future.

Now we are at the core of the story.  If you know the story well you know that the Ghost of Christmas Future never ever says a word.  All it ever does is point.  And so as Scrooge pleads for an answer… he never gets one.

This is where the magic of Dickens’ story happens.  If Scrooge changes it will be because he has become a fundamentally better person with no desire whatsoever for personal gain.  He will truly be generous, selfless, loving, and kind.

You know how the story ends.

This is the ultimate, deep, genuine repentance John the Baptist calls for in our gospel reading.  He is like the Joseph Marley character in A Christmas Carol.  He is telling people to repent or suffer the consequences.  But the repentance is to be absolute and real; not a strategy.

When John is so cruelly harsh to the Pharisees and Sadducees he knows that they fundamentally believe that they are good people.  At the beginning of A Christmas Carol Scrooge considers himself to be pragmatic and wise when it comes to the way he treats other people, especially those who are struggling.  I want to avoid drawing too strong a parallel between Scrooge and the Pharisees and Sadducees, but there are similarities.  If you have convinced yourself that you are good, and if you have surrounded yourself with life dynamics that affirm your goodness all the while keeping hidden the bad things that result from your life, then you feel no need for repentance.

John the Baptist did not invent the idea of baptism.  There are records from Judaism at that time that shows that Jews did have ceremonial washings.  But John is the one who elevates baptism to a one-time event meant to bring about serious and permanent life changes.  Baptism as John did it predates Christianity, but Christianity adopts it as its own initiation rite. 

For most of us living in a generally Christian culture baptism doesn’t really change much.  But in those days, being baptized into Christianity meant a serious life change.  It may mean many life changes.  It may mean stopping doing all sort of things.  It may mean changing one’s friends.  It may even mean being ostracized from your family.

And central to that is what John the Baptist had in mind – a genuine, authentic, enduring, fundamental change of heart and life direction.  No longer would a person live strategically for themselves.  No.  Now, it would be a life of genuine love and giving for the sake of God’s kingdom.

John the Baptist’s core message was, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  When John is arrested and goes off stage Jesus picks up the identical message, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 

The kingdom of heaven is when people genuinely live that life direction.

The Pharisees and Sadducees probably thought their lives just needed a little bit of a tune-up when they came to John to be Baptized.  He felt they also needed a major change in life priorities.

If you are driven to being kind and giving because it is a strategy to avoid negative consequences, well, I suppose that works.  But understand that your life is one of calculation and a constant subtle cost/benefit analysis.  If your life is one of constant cost/benefit analysis then joy will at best be fleeting, and you will live a half life of anxiety and exhaustion.  You will question your purpose, meaning, and direction in life.

If you are driven to being kind and giving because it is a natural flow from the love and goodness God has for you, then I make no promises as to how your life will go.  Remember, Scrooge received no promises from the Ghost of Christmas Future.  Things may go poorly.  Or they may go quite well.  But know that you will discover deep and enduring satisfaction, wholeness, and meaning. 

It is January 1^st 2023.  It is a new year full of new possibilities.  May it be a year where you become nothing short of excellent at living in God’s love and goodness.