Second Sunday of Advent - 5 December 2010 [Cycle A]
What's underneath the ritual?
Sermons on John the Baptist and the passages of Scripture that describe his desert ministry often focus on the theme of preparation. Preparation, after all, is the overarching motif of Advent—the call to “Prepare the way of the Lord!” is found explicitly in the Scriptures. And yet, in our eagerness to connect John’s vocation—getting the people ready for the coming of Jesus—to his incredible expression of abject humility—claiming himself unworthy even to carry the sandal straps of his successor—we may overlook the lines in between. In fact, it is probably the case that most who read or hear this passage have never paused to consider John’s other statement about the Pharisees and Sadduccees, whom he rebukes sharply. What is that all about?Returning to a familiar analogy may help.
John the Baptist may be likened to the fullback in football, whereas Jesus is the running back. In most offensive schemes, the job of the fullback is not to carry the ball himself, except very rarely, but rather to clear a path for the running back. That is, the fullback’s role is toprepare the way for the one coming right after him. It’s not about him, really—it’s about the guy behind him. He will almost certainly never be nominated for a Heisman trophy; he won’t be among the first players taken in the Draft; and most casual fans would probably be hard-pressed even to name their own team’s starting fullback on their team. Barry Sanders. Emmitt Smith. Walter Payton. LaDainian Tomlinson. Adrian Peterson. Running backs get all of the glory and win all of the awards. And yet, for the running back to gain any yardage at all, he needs to have a lead blocker. In front of every successful running back is a group of unheralded offensive players who clear the path so that the running back can do HIS job.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees may be likened to diehard football fans who know the rulebook inside and out and who follow the game as much as possible. They consider themselves experts, and they wield their considerable knowledge with zeal and, at times, condescension. In this analogy, they may be labeled “doubters,” insofar as they do not buy into this new fullback’s claims that his running back is the best in the business. In fact, they’re pretty vocal about criticizing the team... right up until they start having enormous success on the field, when all of a sudden they begin gushing about how great the gameplan is and claim they are 100% on board with the strategy in place for the running game. What John the Baptist is saying to these individuals is... are you really sold on this gameplan you’ve been so critical of? Or are you just jumping on the bandwagon now that all the other fans are rallying behind it? Do you really buy into what we’re doing? Or are you simply putting on a show of it? Is this newfound enthusiasm, in a word... legit?
The Pharisees and Sadduccees were undergoing this external physical gesture—being Baptized publicly—and yet John demanded to know from them, “What’s behind your action? What does all this mean to you?”
His words ring true for us today as we consider how we, ourselves, are taking actions to prepare for the coming of Jesus. Many of us will undertake any number of physical gestures this Advent—lighting candles on an Advent wreath, putting lights in our windows, listening to Christmas carols on the radio. And yet, John the Baptist looks us in the eye and says to us, “What’s behind all of that? Are you just doing it because everyone else is doing it? Or does this really MEAN something to you? Is the external ritual (in his case, Baptism in the Jordan; in our case, putting up Christmas decorations and baking sugar cookies) connected to or motivated by some deeper underlying sense of what this is all about?”
John the Baptist heralded a radical message—Repent! In other words, identify what needs fixing in your life, and take aim at it. Zero in on those things that you need to work on, in order to be properly prepared for the coming of Jesus into your life. His message is as potent and pertinent in the 21st century as it was for its initial hearers in the Middle East some two thousand years earlier. We, who undertake the external rituals, are asked bluntly, “What’s this all mean to you? What does the call to repentance entail, specifically?”
Reflection Questions
1) In what sorts of rituals or traditions to you partake each Advent? Do you light candles on a wreath? Open an Advent Calendar? What do these external gestures mean to you, in relation to the season of Advent itself and your attempt to prepare spiritually for the coming of Jesus at Christmas?
2) Do you feel like you ever are just “going through the motions” at Mass, or participating in something to do with your faith just because everyone else is doing it? Is there a connection between the rituals of your religious practice and your deeper-seated reli- gious beliefs? If not, should there be?
3) John the Baptist calls us to repentance as an explicit way to “Prepare the way of the Lord,” which many theologians have suggested to mean, “Preparing the way of the Lord (in our hearts).” What sorts of things might you need to address this Advent in order to prepare the way of the Lord?
Sermons on John the Baptist and the passages of Scripture that describe his desert ministry often focus on the theme of preparation. Preparation, after all, is the overarching motif of Advent—the call to “Prepare the way of the Lord!” is found explicitly in the Scriptures. And yet, in our eagerness to connect John’s vocation—getting the people ready for the coming of Jesus—to his incredible expression of abject humility—claiming himself unworthy even to carry the sandal straps of his successor—we may overlook the lines in between. In fact, it is probably the case that most who read or hear this passage have never paused to consider John’s other statement about the Pharisees and Sadduccees, whom he rebukes sharply. What is that all about?Returning to a familiar analogy may help.
John the Baptist may be likened to the fullback in football, whereas Jesus is the running back. In most offensive schemes, the job of the fullback is not to carry the ball himself, except very rarely, but rather to clear a path for the running back. That is, the fullback’s role is toprepare the way for the one coming right after him. It’s not about him, really—it’s about the guy behind him. He will almost certainly never be nominated for a Heisman trophy; he won’t be among the first players taken in the Draft; and most casual fans would probably be hard-pressed even to name their own team’s starting fullback on their team. Barry Sanders. Emmitt Smith. Walter Payton. LaDainian Tomlinson. Adrian Peterson. Running backs get all of the glory and win all of the awards. And yet, for the running back to gain any yardage at all, he needs to have a lead blocker. In front of every successful running back is a group of unheralded offensive players who clear the path so that the running back can do HIS job.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees may be likened to diehard football fans who know the rulebook inside and out and who follow the game as much as possible. They consider themselves experts, and they wield their considerable knowledge with zeal and, at times, condescension. In this analogy, they may be labeled “doubters,” insofar as they do not buy into this new fullback’s claims that his running back is the best in the business. In fact, they’re pretty vocal about criticizing the team... right up until they start having enormous success on the field, when all of a sudden they begin gushing about how great the gameplan is and claim they are 100% on board with the strategy in place for the running game. What John the Baptist is saying to these individuals is... are you really sold on this gameplan you’ve been so critical of? Or are you just jumping on the bandwagon now that all the other fans are rallying behind it? Do you really buy into what we’re doing? Or are you simply putting on a show of it? Is this newfound enthusiasm, in a word... legit?
The Pharisees and Sadduccees were undergoing this external physical gesture—being Baptized publicly—and yet John demanded to know from them, “What’s behind your action? What does all this mean to you?”
His words ring true for us today as we consider how we, ourselves, are taking actions to prepare for the coming of Jesus. Many of us will undertake any number of physical gestures this Advent—lighting candles on an Advent wreath, putting lights in our windows, listening to Christmas carols on the radio. And yet, John the Baptist looks us in the eye and says to us, “What’s behind all of that? Are you just doing it because everyone else is doing it? Or does this really MEAN something to you? Is the external ritual (in his case, Baptism in the Jordan; in our case, putting up Christmas decorations and baking sugar cookies) connected to or motivated by some deeper underlying sense of what this is all about?”
John the Baptist heralded a radical message—Repent! In other words, identify what needs fixing in your life, and take aim at it. Zero in on those things that you need to work on, in order to be properly prepared for the coming of Jesus into your life. His message is as potent and pertinent in the 21st century as it was for its initial hearers in the Middle East some two thousand years earlier. We, who undertake the external rituals, are asked bluntly, “What’s this all mean to you? What does the call to repentance entail, specifically?”
Reflection Questions
1) In what sorts of rituals or traditions to you partake each Advent? Do you light candles on a wreath? Open an Advent Calendar? What do these external gestures mean to you, in relation to the season of Advent itself and your attempt to prepare spiritually for the coming of Jesus at Christmas?
2) Do you feel like you ever are just “going through the motions” at Mass, or participating in something to do with your faith just because everyone else is doing it? Is there a connection between the rituals of your religious practice and your deeper-seated reli- gious beliefs? If not, should there be?
3) John the Baptist calls us to repentance as an explicit way to “Prepare the way of the Lord,” which many theologians have suggested to mean, “Preparing the way of the Lord (in our hearts).” What sorts of things might you need to address this Advent in order to prepare the way of the Lord?
