Have you ever met a control freak? Are you a control freak? Would you admit that you are a control freak? Do you need to go to control freaks anonymous meetings? Hello, my name is Christian Wood, and I’m a control freak. (You’re all supposed to say, “Hello Christian.”) All of us have been, at some point in our lives, control freaks. Don’t think so? Have you ever been a bride? Have you ever been the mother of a bride? Have you ever organized your garage only to come home and find that someone borrowed a tool and put it back in the wrong place? Have you ever coached a youth sports team? Have you ever started a business? Are you clergy? Being a control freak myself, as anyone who lives with me can attest to, it’s my opinion that it’s not always a bad thing to be a control freak. In fact, there are times, lots of times, when being a control freak is essential to getting a job done well, and not making a fool of yourself.
In today’s Gospel, we hear John the Baptist ask a question of Jesus, which makes me think John was having a “control freak attack” while he was in prison. John sends one of his disciples to ask Jesus, are you the Messiah or not? What is it that John is missing? It’s the same thing we are missing when we focus as individuals, as families, as a religious community, and even as a nation too much on what we cannot control. When the adrenaline and anxiety that drives us when we need to be control freaks, makes us crazy because but we can’t do anything about it. The fact is we live in a world that is run by an all-loving, all-knowing, and all-consuming God, even when we can’t see him working.
What keeps you awake at night? Politics? Climate change? Your child’s future? Your grandchildren’s future? Stock markets? North Korea? Peace in the Middle East? What is it in our society, or who is it in our society that you are desperate to control? I remember my history teacher in High School saying to me, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” I responded to him, being the control freak that I am by saying, “I personally would like to test that theory.”
One of the often-ignored themes in the season of Advent, along with the repentance, and excited preparation of the return of Jesus, is that of patience. Saint James says this, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also be patient. Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:7-8 ESV) Our collect today, “Stir up thy power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let thy bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us.” Because we ALL are sorely hindered by our sins. I cannot think of a better way to describe humanity, to illustrate how easy it is to corrupt even the best of us, with power and control. Yet, it seems to me that more and more people continue to think they can fix it all, and that is a sin most prevalent in the Episcopal Church today. The idea we can fix it all, the idea we can perfect it all. That idea has a fatal flaw, if it were true, which it is not. It would mean that we don’t need Jesus. The idea that we can save the world ourselves only leads to despondence and despair.
Jesus says of John the Baptist, “among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” If Jesus says John can’t do it, I would bet the house none of us can either.
C.S. Lewis’s book The Great Divorce, tells the story of spirits traveling through eternity on their way to the nearer presence of God. At the beginning of the journey, the spirits begin to walk on grass, but the grass is so sharp, it hurts them. The reason the grass hurts them is that they are less real than the grass. And as they continue their journey toward God, they become increasingly more real, and as they do, what they encounter becomes far less burdensome to them.
Here is a truth all of us need to hear. As we grow closer to God, as our journey brings us closer to God, the things in this world that give us sleepless nights begin to worry us less and less. I’m not trying to trivialize stuff like climate change, politics, or the welfare of our children. What I am trying to point out is this, that as we learn to rely more on God, and less on self, more on God, and less on human idols, we gain the insight and patience to see that the world we are living in is less real than the world we await with great expectation.
I am not saying that we should stop striving to bring God’s justice and love to all who we meet. That we should just give up and say to hell with this world. That is not what I am preaching. We must do what we can where God calls us. Love our neighbor, teach people about Jesus, and his love for all humanity. And give all the rest that we cannot control over to God. Psalm 37 says this, “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.” In Saint Paul’s words, “rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7) When we follow the advice of the Psalmist, and Saint Paul, we realize no matter how bad we mess things up, eventually, God will restore it all, and all of us, to right order. As we continue our journey through Advent, anxiously awaiting the return of Our Lord, rely on God, on his promise of redemption, and rejoice in his love.
Sermon preached by the Rev. Christian M. Wood
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota FL
3rd Sunday of Advent
15 December 2019