The Cousins

In one sense, the importance given to John the Baptist in Advent is puzzling. For he does not belong here: he has no role in the preparation for the birth of Jesus, which we celebrate at Christmas. Nor does he have any direct connection with our expectation of the End, which is the other keynote of this season. And yet the Gospel readings for the two middle Sundays of Advent concern the relationship between John and Jesus. (His reappearance in the Epiphany season makes more sense, for the preaching of John in the wilderness leads to Jesus’ Baptism by him, and the revelation of his status as the Father’s Beloved Son.)

Yet how impoverished our Advent observance would be without the Baptist and his presence, warning of judgement and calling for repentance! It’s not just that we wouldn’t be able to sing “On Jordan’s bank”; rather, the emphasis on John’s proclamation and demands warns us not to be sentimental about the birth of Jesus - or blasé about the Last Things. John reminds us of the cutting edge of the Gospel, which is too easily blunted by the intrusion of Victorian carols and school Nativity plays into the weeks before we actually celebrate the Birth.

Christian teaching always treads a tightrope between an over-emphasis on judgement, and a one-sided view of grace. Certainly, we cannot earn, let alone deserve, our salvation; it is essentially and necessarily an amazing gift, freely given by a merciful and loving God. But we cannot ignore Jesus’ teaching about the importance, indeed the necessity, of the right response to God’s love. We have to forgive others, to demonstrate that we have accepted and understood our own forgiven-ness. We have to love our neighbour, whoever he or she is, and resist the human tendency to tribalism and exclusiveness. Our righteousness is to exceed that of the highly moral scribes and Pharisees. And our failure to feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned or welcome the stranger has serious and eternal significance.

John stands to remind us that the path to the Kingdom is open - to those who repent, and acknowledge their need to be cleansed. At the same time, his baptising offers us an invitation to make a fresh start – which is why so many flocked to the banks of the Jordan to take that opportunity. By giving high priority to this man, who is greater than any other human prophet – and at the same time no greater than any others who accept the Kingdom (I take that to be the meaning of Luke 7:28) – the Church reminds us of the paradox at the heart of our faith. We are saved by grace alone, but we are also called to work out our salvation ‘in fear and trembling’.

So although there might appear to be a contrast between the two – John with his demand for righteous works, against Jesus with his offer of grace, that is a mistake. John is the Forerunner of the Christ and the Gospel he proclaims. For John, like Jesus, confronts the self-righteous and the overtly religious, while providing hope for the downtrodden and the downcast. He offers a way out of despair, which requires nothing more than a willingness to swallow one’s pride and accept the gift of forgiveness. And John’s readiness to suffer rejection and death for what he asserts points us beyond him to the greater and efficacious sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away human sin.

Luke provides an image of the family relationship between John and Jesus, as cousins, whose conceptions share certain characteristics, as will their deaths. By including the accounts of the Baptist in the Advent lectionary, the Church reminds us of their ‘theological’ relationship. John may remind us of the seriousness of sin rather than deal with it; but in that way he helps us to prepare more fully to welcome the Saviour, who will set us free from its power.

Advent Candles

December 1^st is the starting date for most Advent calendars and candles. We still use a candle daily in our prayers, as a reminder of our approach to Christmas; and many families benefit from the ‘count-down’ to the festival provided by the ritual daily opening of the calendar window (whether or not there is a chocolate behind it.)

Certainly both practices serve as a welcome counter-cultural balance to the prevailing culture of commerce and consumption, in which Christmas has apparently already arrived;  Christmas trees and decorations are everywhere, jangled carols are played throughout shopping centres, and it is increasingly difficult to find a restaurant that isn’t serving roast turkey ‘with all the trimmings’.

By emphasising Advent as a time of preparation, we can see it as a celebration of the importance of patience, and a declaration of hope. That is why we should resist turning Advent into an anticipation of Christmas (in the original meaning of that word – ‘to use, spend, deal with in advance or before the due time.’) Rather we should be encouraged to wait – something our ‘instant’ culture finds difficult. The Church’s lectionary reminds us both of the long years of hopeful waiting that preceded Jesus’ birth (‘Adam lay y-bounden...Four thousand winters thought he not too long’) and of the waiting that Christians experience as we look forward to the second coming of the Son of Man in the final consummation of his saving work.

So today we look back, to Israel’s prophetic hope, and forward, to the fulfilment of our Christian hope, that ‘The Lord will come, and not be slow,’ remembering the early Christian acclamation – Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus!

The danger of both the Advent candle and the calendar is that while they encourage to prepare, we can become too focussed on preparing for Christmas, and miss the other message of Advent hope. Too much looking back can make us forget the God who still acts; who is – even now - doing a new thing, and who meets us in the present. However, too much gazing into the future, as some Christians do, can lead us to ignore the current needs of our world, and fail to discern the signs of God’s call to minister and witness. Besides, too much looking back or looking forward can overwhelm us - either with regret or nostalgia, or with anxiety.

St Paul reminded the Corinthians: ‘I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation’ (2 Cor 6:2.) Advent can help us to be more aware of that truth. For as we celebrate the Lord who comes, we recall that he is the God of surprises, the God who comes unexpectedly. His birth as the son of Mary makes that plain; and we are told that his second coming will be ‘like a thief in the night.’

But he also comes now - whether to meet us in our need, or to challenge us in our complacency. Advent is the season of celebration of the God who is eternally with us and still makes himself known in the sacrament of the present moment.