LOOKING FOR A LEADER

(A sermon preached December 10, 2006 at University United Methodist Church, East Lansing by John Ross Thompson

Scripture Texts: Luke 3:1-6; Malachi 3:1-4

This is the time of the year when we receive Christmas letters.
I do enjoy them, for they are a good way to catch up on the comings and goings of people we don’t see often. For your new pastors, it is a good way to get to know you.

However, in The Christian Century, Joanna Adams shared the
following example of how some such letters can go a little over the top:

“Dear Friends, It has been a wonderful year for all of us. Our youngest grandchild
graduated magna cum laude from kindergarten. Our daughter received the Nobel Prize in Physics in October two weeks after giving birth to triplets. As for ourselves, we are blessed with perfect health, flat abdomens and wrinkle-free complexions. We enjoyed our private audience with the pope in the spring…..”

And so it goes. We did get one such overly boastful letter already this month, but of course it wasn’t from someone in this church.

Our longings always seem to be more than our reality. Perhaps Christmas letters are a way for us to reflect on the year past in a way that makes sense to us and others. Perhaps they are a “If only….” type of musing as we construct them.

In this season of longings, as I read today’s scriptures, I see among our longings the search for a leader.

Don’t we all want someone to come and fix things for us?
Perhaps from the time we first realized that our parents weren’t perfect, and couldn’t do everything for us, most of us have been looking for those who can make things right. At least someone who can make it better.

Even though lots of us want to fix the world ourselves, we soon realize that’s impossible.

That’s what happens every election day. We try to find someone to make life better for everyone. It’s interesting to me in the USA how we elect a certain party for a period of time. They get one or two terms in office, but then we throw the bums out, and let the other party leaders try for a while. The cycle continues….and we never quite find the leader in shining armor who can make it all right.

Perhaps the same is true where you work or study. All of us can find something incomplete about the person in charge. And, if we’re the ones in charge, we can find reasons why we can’t lead effectively, and usually those reasons are other people.

This is nothing new. The Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament are filled with the longings of people of faith for a Messiah, a leader who will lead them from darkness to light, from despair to hope, from scarcity to plenty.

We need to be careful, however, what we hope for.

The leader coming in Malachi is “like a refiner’s fire and strong lye soap”. That leader would literally burn away our evil and clean up our mess. This was written at a time when the people of Israel seemed to have it the way they had wanted for generations. They were back in Jerusalem after years of exile, free to live and worship the way they wanted. But they turned back to their evil ways. Their society was so corrupt that even the priests in the temple were doing wrong. They were abusing the abundance they had.

Therefore, the prophet tells them that a strong leader is coming and that leader
will clean them up. A necessary thing, but not a comforting promise.

The Luke message is somewhat the same. The one we know best as John the Baptist went out into the wilderness to preach repentance from evil. Commentators have focused on how much the people wanted and needed to hear his message. It wasn’t convenient to go out into the wilderness to hear an outspoken preacher, but many did. As a result, they changed their ways.

Notice John’s message. Others thought he was one of the old-time prophets who had come back. But he made it clear that he was not the Promised One. He was the one who was to announce the coming of the Promised One.

In those days, messengers (often called angels) were commonly known to bring important announcements. The people had been yearning for a leader, wanting someone to give them guidance. They thought John was that leader, but he clearly said that it was his cousin Jesus who was to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.

And all of that leads us to this season. On this second Sunday of Advent, what are our hopes and longings? If you can put aside for a moment the busyness of getting ready for this season, what is it that you are truly looking for? For whom are you looking?

I believe we all still yearn for a leader. To me, a leader is someone who knows people and who guides them to a common vision. A leader is not “Mr. Fix-It or Ms. Fix-It” but someone who channels the gifts of the people toward their hopes and dreams. Poor leaders try to do it all themselves, not making use of the resources they have in others. Some of the most effective leaders are the ones that are behind the scenes, directing others to make a difference.

Note that John the Baptist did NOT say Jesus was going to fill in all the valleys and make the path smooth. That’s our job. John called on us to “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

This is still the season of preparation. There’s still time for us to reflect on what Jesus we want in our lives. Do we want the powerful all-consuming leader who will come on strong and make things right? Do we want the companion and friend who will walk with us, making sure that we are on the right path? What do we want the baby in the manger to grow up to be for us?

I believe the Jesus we see is the Jesus for which we prepare. The Divine One who comes at Christmas is multi-dimensional. Just look at the various traditions of different cultures to see how many forms and personalities Jesus can take. The one for whom we prepare a way is the one who comes to us.

John Westerhoff, Episcopal priest and educator, says it this way:
“I invite you to ponder the possibilities of receiving a telephone call from someone you have never met face to face, but because of the stories you have heard about him, you feel that you know him quite well. Over the years, you have confessed your love for him. You have offered prayers in his name. Today, he has called to say that he is on the way. Imagine what he is bringing with him. He is bringing every single thing you need to continue your journey into the dominion of God. His name is Jesus, but before he can come, preparations must be made.”

This is a time, before Christmas, to talk with others about what difference Christmas will make in our lives. If we truly believe that it is God-come-to-earth, then surely something will be different. Make a list, but not for Santa. Make it for yourself, listing what you are looking for in Christ the King, Christ the friend, Christ the companion.

Prepare the way – Prepare ourselves for Christ’s coming!