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Sermon for December 8, 2024
Advent 2 C
Luke 3:1-6
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
When I served as a pastor in Lincoln, Nebraska I met the Lutheran campus pastor at the University of Nebraska, Adam White. Pastor Adam told me about a ministry he would do once a week. He’d put his clerical collar on and walk outside to the campus quad. There he’d set out two chairs, one for him and the other one empty. Next to the chairs he put up a sign with a simple a message: “If you want to rant about religion, I’ll listen.” And sure enough, most weeks someone would sit down in the empty chair and Pastor Adam would listen to whatever they had to say.
Some of you may remember that Allison Johnson—the daughter of our House of Prayer congregation, who became a pastor about 5 or so years ago—well, she did her internship with Pastor Adam at the University of Nebraska. And the weeks when Adam was unavailable to sit on the quad and listen to anyone who wanted to rant about religion—well, then Allison would do it! So I asked her what it was like. Pastor Allison said that some people wanted to debate. Others simply wanted to have a conversation. But everyone who sat down had something in common—they wanted someone who would listen to them.
Allison said that it was a really valuable experience because it taught her humility and respect; it showed her that people who may never go to church, or who have stopped going to church, have something to teach those of us who do; and it provided a place for a representative of Christianity to say “I’m sorry” to those who may have been hurt in some way by church or religion.
I would venture to guess that Adam and Allison’s practice of offering to intentionally listen did more to share the message of Jesus on the campus quadrangle than if they had stood up on a soapbox and “cried out” like a streetcorner preacher to busy students who would have been hurrying past and ignoring them, while walking to class or the library. It was almost like they were being John the Baptist “in reverse”. If you’ll remember from the gospel, John the Baptist began his ministry by going out into the wilderness. Instead of the wilderness this time, Adam and Allison went out into a busy college campus, in the middle of a city.
John the Baptist was famous for preaching about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and crowds of people who were hungry for this message streamed from the cities and towns out to the middle of nowhere to hear him preach. Adam and Allison did not attract large crowds who listened (just one person at a time who did the talking), and these people did not need to venture to the middle of nowhere—just to stop by and have a seat. Adam and Allison did not preach a particular message—their simple presence in the name of Jesus was their sermon—and as they sat, they were the ones doing the listening as others basically preached to them. And Adam and Allison were not telling people to repent, but instead they were the ones offering their own repentance on behalf of the Church to people who had been hurt.
Yet even though their methods were in many ways the reverse of John the Baptist’s, the end result was similar—the forgiveness of sins was happening, the way of the Lord was being prepared—with valleys being filled, mountains made low, crooked things made straight, rough ways made smooth, and the salvation of God being made visible and available in people’s lives.
Being like John the Baptist in reverse was really a way of translating the ministry of John for the present day, and in a way that modern college kids could relate to. And it’s important to remember that when John the Baptist did his preaching about repentance this message was not directed to people “out there” who’d never heard of the Messiah. His preaching was directed to the faithful who were expecting a Messiah to appear. Really being in tune with John the Baptism means that we’re doing less talking and more listening for God.
As Christians who put our faith in Jesus as the Messiah, we watch and wait for how he continues to appear in our lives and in the world. That’s what Advent means—arrival, appearance. Advent is about more than waiting for Jesus to arrive when he was born and that being the endpoint; Advent is about looking and listening for where the presence of Jesus is still appearing today. So if the Word of the Lord once came to John the Baptist out in the wilderness, it makes sense that Adam and Allison would have gone where people may have felt like they were “in a wilderness” of sorts in terms of their faith or their relationship with the church or religion. Campus was a good place to for them to go and listen for the Word of the Lord, and look for the surprising ways that Jesus might start showing up.
And if the Messiah promises to show up, John the Baptist was saying, then we’ve got to make ourselves ready for him by turning towards God (which is what repentance means). Adam and Allison show us that a great way to turn towards God is by turning towards other people, turning towards one another, and simply listening for the things that break their heart; and listening for the things that give them hope. That’s where we begin to see the salvation God has promised in Christ.
The repentance that John the Baptist preached about in the wilderness, or that Pastors Adam and Allison modeled at the University of Nebraska, always requires deep listening—listening for God, listening to yourself, listening to others. Not listening to respond—at least not at first—because before you can respond you need to listen to understand where they’re coming from. You don’t have to agree with what they say, or have the same hurts or hopes that others share with you, because you can always be tuning your heart and soul to be listening for what the Holy Spirit might have to say through them.
So I’m going to ask you to take the next few minutes to turn to one person sitting near you, and if you’re willing, I invite you to take turns briefly sharing, one at a time, about something that breaks your heart; and something that gives you hope. Just listen to what your neighbor shares, with respect and humility, and realize that you are on holy ground.
…[After people have had a chance to talk and listen]… Amen.