"Words to Live by III: Power"
The power of John the Baptist to point us to Christ.
Sermon Preached by
The Reverend Dr. Andrew Stirling
Sunday, December 15, 2002
Text: Matthew 11:7-15
This is what precedes this morning's reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 11:
Now when John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the expected one, or shall we look for someone else?" and Jesus answered and said to them: "Go and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight and the lame walk. The lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them and blessèd is he who keeps from stumbling over me."
After my plane landed in the ice-storm in North Carolina some 10 days ago and we went down the runway sideways, I was picked up by a very charming man representing my hosts. As I got into his truck for the six-mile drive back to the university, he informed me that with all the cars off the road, it would probably take us a good two hours to reach our destination.
And so, realizing that his truck was low on gas, after about a mile we pulled off into a gas station. When we got there he said to the attendant: "Would you fill'er up."
The guy said: "I can't do that."
He said: "Why? Don't you have any gas?"
He said: "No, got lots o' gas. Just ain't got no power."
From my experience that week in North Carolina and from my experience living through the ice-storm in Ottawa and in Montreal a few years ago, I have become convinced that there is one thing that we are totally dependent on, and that is power. In fact, it's like anything else: "You don't know what you've got till it's gone, to quote Big Yellow Taxi.
But power is one of those things that we take so much for granted and nearly everything that we do is fuelled by it - although nowadays we feel that every time we flip a switch it costs us our life savings.
But it is not only in the area of energy and in physics where we need power, it is also part of our relationships and our life and our society. The great Bertrand Russell, although somewhat skeptical and cynical of the Christian faith, nevertheless had some very profound things to say about power. One of them went as follows: "The fundamental concept in social science is power in the same sense in which energy is the fundamental concept in Physics."
In other words, in human endeavour, in human relationships, in the governance of society, in the way we live, power is central to so much of what we do, what we believe, and what we have. I have often thought that despite the fact that power is so important in our lives (or perhaps because of that fact), so many of us experience a profound sense of powerlessness.
I feel powerless, as I am sure many of you do at the moment, when there is talk of war; when people are making decisions about the fate of the world. Even in our own nation they make decisions that we have no power to alter or change or direct. Citizens in moments like this have a profound sense of powerlessness, even in a democracy. We have a sense of powerlessness over terrorism: Thousands of miles away in the minds and the hearts of people we do not know, decisions are being made that could tomorrow affect the way we live, or our government, or our relationships. But we are powerless; we react but we do not have the ability to change those decisions. We are powerless in the face of great epidemics such as AIDS with the lives that it destroys in our own country and the devastation that it is causing in Africa.
I felt that when I was in that plane landing in Greensboro. We have very little power over nature. As that plane landed and skidded along the runway, I remembered somebody once saying that they never understood why in a plane they always announced that under your seat there is a flotation device. Why aren't there parachutes instead? There is a sense of powerlessness when nature rears its ugly head.
Many people feel a sense of powerlessness about their own physical health, the diseases or cancers that are in their bodies; or about the inability to change what is happening to loved ones; or in the face of financial difficulties and challenges. There are many things over which we feel powerless, and yet power is surely one of the things that we need to live life and to govern our country and to determine the ways of human beings.
Very often the church has responded to this sense of powerlessness by turning towards political forces in order to control or constrain other powers.
In the Church History course that I have just finished teaching at the University of Toronto, we studied, for example, the Unum Sanctum Bull of Pope Boniface VIII, who decided that it would be good for the state to be under the control of the "sword" of the church; that the church needed to assert its own power in order that the state might be able to live under the rubric of the church's governance.
Even with the Crusades, there was an attempt to try to impose power on the world, power on another religion - Islam or Judaism, power over other Christians in Constantinople. Again, to try to bring the Kingdom of God about by the use of force or of power.
You can see that even in my great hero, John Calvin, who in his experiment in Geneva tried to create the Kingdom of God by having a pure and righteous and a Godly theocracy, a society governed by people of faith. It sounded good but it was an experiment that ostensibly failed.
Even as recently as the 1950s, '60s and '70s here in Canada, mainline churches tried to work with civil powers to bring about the Kingdom; to change the way that things were done. It's a good intention, yes; but it's sometimes been co-opted by those powers. Believing that they are benign, the Church felt they would lead to a kingdom of justice and righteousness. It's an experiment that often fails.
Then there are those who, in another camp, want to turn towards personal power; who want to try to make you believe that if you will only subscribe to their particular view of the Christian faith, you will have the personal power to deal with all the issues and challenges of your life.
I listened very recently to a man who, I am sure, is very well meaning and I think has a very apt name: The Reverend Doctor Dollar. The Reverend Doctor Dollar tells you that if you do certain things you will have the personal power to be able to deal with your financial problems and the things that come your way in life.
We even like to have star power, where we bring on a Christian sports star, or someone equally famous. When they tell the story of how wonderful they are and how they have succeeded, ipso facto, we can all do just the same, and have the same kind of star power.
There is something disingenuous about all of this. It is an attempt to do what was criticized in our text this morning: to bring about the Kingdom through force; to bring about the Kingdom through using the world's power and the world's message; to build the Kingdom of God on the back of the kingdom of humanity. But this attempt very often fails. Not only does it let us down, but it also leads to consequences beyond our ability to conceive.
That is why our text this morning is so revolutionary. It is Advent Power. It is the power of John the Baptist.
John the Baptist is one of those characters in the Bible who is ubiquitous. You find him in all the Gospels. Everyone seems to mention him. He was a man who was strong in many ways, a force, a charismatic character. While he was great, at times he was also weak and ineffectual and unable to bring about the Kingdom that he desired. Here was a man who because of his power and nature was well represented within the Scriptures and even thought of to be a prophet like Elijah, or Isaiah, or even Micah.
There were those who thought that John the Baptist was in fact going to bring about the Kingdom of God; that through his own disciples and the exercise of his own power, maybe the kingdom of justice that they so desired would be born in John the Baptist. And when he told the people to repent, and when he quoted from the great prophet Micah, ("There is a voice in the wilderness crying, prepare ye the way of the Lord,") many people thought that John the Baptist was in fact the second coming of Elijah. He was that powerful.
But he was also, and we find this in our story this morning a man whose disciples were a little unclear about his role. At one point they had come to him and asked what they should do and what they should go and see. The great majesty and wonder of this man, John the Baptist, is that he pointed them to Jesus of Nazareth. He pointed them to the coming Messiah and in so doing revealed the power that he, himself, really had.
It is a two-fold power. First of all, John had a singular purpose. He believed that he was called to introduce people to the coming Kingdom of God; that like the great prophets before him, it was his job to point the way. But it was also a fact that because he pointed the way to the Kingdom of God, he came into a confrontation with the kingdoms of this world. When he pointed to Herod and his immoral behaviour, to Herodias and hers, they tried to seduce him and turn him to their way of thinking. But John the Baptist would have nothing to do with the powers of the world because he had a singular purpose: His only desire in his heart was for the Kingdom of God to be known and to be seen, and to be experienced. That is why Jesus, seeing this very rough man, said to the disciples who had come to look at him: What did you expect to see, a reed that blew in the wind, a man of soft clothing? Did you expect someone who was pabulum? No. John the Baptist was a man who was tough. He was rural. He was strong and he had a resolve that couldn't be bent.
I was talking to someone this morning, and we realized together that John the Baptist was someone that you wouldn't invite to your Christmas party if you wanted to be polite. John was the sort of man who would say: "There's too much money being spent, too much drink being consumed, too many people not doing God's will, too many people hungry out in the world." John the Baptist was strong. He was courageous and he had a sense that the Kingdom came first.
But he was also a man who was willing to suffer for that Kingdom. He was willing to put his life between his people and the powers of this world. He was willing to put himself between his cousin Jesus, whom he believed to be the Messiah, and the powers of this world.
There is a delightful story told of Oliver Cromwell, who had brought to him a young soldier who was believed to have deserted his post. Oliver Cromwell said that he would be put to death at the toll of the curfew bell. And so they got ready to ring the bell, ready for this young man to be killed, when all of a sudden a young woman climbed into the bell tower. She grabbed hold of the clapper and as the bell swung back and forth it did not make any noise, because her body was taking the blows. After about two hours she dropped to the ground. When Cromwell saw this he asked for this woman to be brought to him. She came and he said: "What are you doing?"
She said: "I am the fiancée of the man that you are about to kill."
Cromwell was so overwhelmed by the love of this woman for the man that he made a decree: The curfew bell must not ring again and the man was spared.
You see, John the Baptist was that same kind of person. He saw the dangers coming to those around him and he was willing to bear them, even his own death and his beheading, in order to maintain the singular view that he had of the Kingdom of God.
That did not mean that John was perfect. That did not mean that John did not have questions about what Jesus was doing. He was as surprised as everyone else that Jesus was so compassionate; that Jesus was so forgiving; that Jesus was so humble. This was not what he had anticipated. He wanted Jesus to demonstrate his power and he sent his disciples to go and look at Jesus and to see what he was doing and to ask questions.
John the Baptist was a man who asked questions, but was not a man who had doubt, and there's a difference. I think there is a lot of room for us to ask questions, for us to want to know more about the Kingdom; to seek and to find and to ask and to delve into important questions; but it's for the purpose of believing. It's for the purpose of being obedient. John the Baptist was so singular in his purpose of wanting the Kingdom of God above all else that he kept his humility.
This leads us to the second thing that John the Baptist did. He had a singular affection.
There is a wonderful line where Jesus talks of John the Baptist and he says: "Of all the men that were born of women, this is surely the greatest." Of all the men born of women, this is surely the greatest. Yet, John the Baptist was a man who humbled himself for the sake of others, and therein lay his power.
In John's Gospel he is quoted as saying: "I must decrease in order that Christ might increase." At the heart of the faith, then, is a profound sense of humility.
Is it any wonder that we often don't have the power in our lives to do good, that we don't have the desire for the things of the Kingdom? It's because we do not humble ourselves to the point of decreasing in order that Christ might increase. For surely that is the heart of power and that is the heart of faith, and that is what made John so humble and so powerful at the same time.
But it can't have been easy for John the Baptist. I have often thought that if someone were to come along and tell me that my cousin was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God who was going to bring about the Kingdom, I would just be a little miffed and envious. Wouldn't you? I would just be a little ticked off that it's not me but somebody related to me who is going to be the great one. Maybe that says more about my own egotistical nature than anything else, so maybe you don't share that feeling; but it would upset me. Then again, I know my cousin.
But John the Baptist, with all his power and all his disciples around him, really could have seized power. He could have set up a rival group against the disciples of Jesus, and there was a danger of that happening. Even after John was dead there was that danger. But John did not seize power. He humbled himself before Jesus Christ and therein lies his power.
There is a wonderful parable that I read of a man called George. George had a friend who was envious of everything that George did. George was powerful and his friend was not. One day his friend said to George: "George, I don't believe that you are half as important as people say you are."
George said: "Well, okay. Maybe." But he thought that he would try and put his friend straight so he said: "Why don't we go and see my good friend Johnny Carson?"
His friend said: "Oh, I bet you don't know Johnny Carson."
So off they went to Los Angeles, knocked on the door of the house and Johnny Carson answered and said: "George! Come on in. Bring in your friend and let's have dinner."
His friend was astounded. My goodness, he knows Johnny Carson. This is amazing. But afterwards the friend said: "Well, maybe you just know one person. I bet you don't know anyone really powerful."
George said: "Well, actually I do. I know the President of the United States."
His friend said: "Oh now, come on, George. I tell you what: I'll challenge you. I will pay for two tickets to Washington and then we'll see whether you know the President of the United States."
So two days later he bought tickets and off they went, knocked on the front gate of the White House. George Bush answers the door: "Hi, George, come on in. Nice to see you. Why don't you stay for dinner and bring your friend."
And so they had dinner at the White House. His friend was really miffed that George knew George Bush. This was too much. He said: "Well, all right. So you know George Bush, George but I bet there's nobody else that you know who's powerful."
George said: "Well, actually the Pope has a much nicer office than the President."
He said: "All right. This is too much now. I don't believe it. I will bet you $10,000 you don't know the Pope."
So George said: "You're on."
Three days later they were on their way to the Vatican. They arrived in Rome and they knock on the door of the Vatican. A bishop came out and said: "George, how nice to see you. Come on in, but you're going to have to leave your friend outside."
So George goes in. He has dinner with the Pope and finally they come out onto the balcony before all the crowds and the Pope has his arm around George's waist. Afterwards, George came down to look for his friend and found him passed out in St. Peter's Square. He finally wakened his friend up and said: "Well, did you see that?"
His friend said: "Yes, I saw that. I'm not overwhelmed that you knew the Pope. I'm overwhelmed by the crowd who kept saying, 'Who is that man in white with George?'"
Well, I'm sure John the Baptist must have felt a little bit like that guy in St. Peter's Square: Who is this man Jesus that he does such things? I'm going to send my disciples to seek this guy out. And they did.
When they saw Jesus, they were astounded. Because what Jesus was doing was something that John had no concept of, really. The blind were able to see. The lame were able to walk. The deaf were able to hear. The dead were raised to life. The poor were given the message of the good news.
When they came back and told John what they had seen, John understood that the power of the one for whom he had decreased in order that he might increase was the true power. He was the Son of God, but this Son of God had not come in the way that he had thought. He had not come in such a way that he would use power and might or military force. The power of Jesus of Nazareth was the power of the Kingdom of God. It was the power of love and of grace, of healing and of forgiveness, of truth and of humility.
And when I think of John the Baptist, I think that here is a man who could have started an insurrection in the wilderness and could have overthrown in many ways the powers of darkness. But he didn't
When I think of Jesus whom he worshipped, I think that here is a man who could have brought down 10,000 angels from the Cross. He could have done. He had the power of God, but the power of God does not operate in that way. The power of God is not like the power of this world. It is greater.
Wendell Philips, the great American writer, once said: "One on the side of God is a majority."
The Church does not need the power of the state or even the power of culture to make its message known. Christians do not need the powers of this world in order to be able to live a gracious and godly and Kingdom-filled life. In fact, it is often in renouncing those things and in following humbly the way of Christ that the true power of God comes forth.
There is a wonderful phrase at the end of this passage and it once made me question what Jesus was saying, but now I understand. He said: "But you [the disciples], you will be able to do more than what John has done. You will see even more than what John has seen."
And indeed we do, because we know the end of the story. We know of the cross and the Resurrection. John did not. And if John could be so singular in purpose that in all things the Kingdom comes first, if he could have such singular affection and be so devoted in humility to the ways of Christ, how much more should we, who know the story, more fully exercise those same things and have that same power; for the power that we live by is the power always of God, and God's ways are not always the ways of the world. They are the ways of humility and love and truth and peace.
John saw it with his own eyes. Amen.
This is a verbatim transcription of the original sermon.