The Third Sunday of Advent - Rev. Aimee Baxter

My eight-year-old really struggles with waiting. Christmas is his absolute favorite, so while the season leading up to it is a lot of fun, we find that everyone’s patience is tested.

So much so that I had a conversation with him before I started wrapping presents this year. In the past, as soon as the gifts get under the tree, he is ready to open them. He incessantly asks how many days are left, and if the answer isn’t to his liking, things can get a little hairy.

It’s going okay… well, let’s just say it’s going. We have a an almost daily conversation about the value of waiting and surprises. How it’s nice to anticipate and be excited about what’s to come. You could say the Baxter house is a living, breathing Advent sermon illustration.

The waiting is so hard. What we have found to be a big help is moving the marker on our Advent calendars as a visual sign of progress towards the goal. You can see we have those signs here in our worship space as well.

I was delighted to learn some history this week about the origins of the lighting of the Advent candles. It traces back to 1833 in a German orphanage. Every night of Advent, to combat the darkness of the winter, the caretaker would tell the children stories, pray, and light a candle on a wheel shaped chandelier entwined with evergreen. Supporters of his ministry and those in the community began to imitate this tradition, and over time streamlined it to lighting a candle for each week.

It was also customary for someone named John or Joan to be the first to light the candles because John the Baptist was the one to prepare the way for Jesus and recognize his divinity. Stay tuned. We’ll be hearing more about him later.

This Sunday is marked by the pink candle and known as Joy Sunday. It’s my favorite Sunday in Advent because it’s like when you are in a race, and you get a second wind that pushes you to the finish line. Or for those of us non-runner types, similar to the boost you get in the evening and feel like you can conquer the world by doing laundry and dishes.

It’s a marker for us that it’s time to start getting excited - to start proclaiming the Lord is near!

As Rev. Melanie pointed out last week, we saw Grumpy John coming out in full force. His message is sharp and pointed, and he really doesn’t hold back. In a lot ways he serves as a divisive figure because on one hand people are drawn to him, but on the other his message and how its delivered, has landed him in prison. That’s where we find him today.

Someone on Facebook pointed out that John might be the worst hype man imaginable. He’s what we in the south might call a little rough around the edges.

In today’s Gospel, we see John’s directness and bluntness even in the way he addresses his message to Jesus. From prison he sends word to Jesus asking, “So are you the guy we’ve been waiting on or do we need to start preparing for someone else?”

As a person who likes to get stuff done, I kind of love John’s perspective here. There’s work to do. We need to know if we are headed in the right direction.

I love how Jesus responds to John. He says, “Tell John what you’ve witnessed. That the blind can see, the lame can walk, the lepers are healed, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised and the poor have good news.”

Basically, let him know Kingdom work is being done. We are doing what he prepared the way for us to do. Jesus’ response is so tender, pastoral and loving. He knows it’s exactly what John would want to hear and needed to hear.

Then, Jesus takes things a step further. He addresses the crowd as it pertains to John. He knows that people aren’t quite sure what to think of him. After all John isn’t dressed in the finest clothes. I’m sure he doesn’t smell great. And as we’ve discussed, he’s a bit socially awkward.

Jesus’ response to that? “And?? What were you expecting?  He’s not quite what you were thinking, is he?”

John is unexpected, and potentially disappointing, to the people. He is not what they had in mind as the one that the Messiah would revere as “the greatest born of women”.  Spoiler Alert: Neither is Jesus.

Depending on your vantage point and place in the social order, the message brought by John, Jesus, and Mary in our readings could bring great encouragement or a bit of trepidation. They are presenting a new order to the world and are very much unexpected.

We, as people, in general have a hard time when things aren’t what we thought they would be. My daughter is in the Savannah Children’s Theater’s production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. As I was watching the play last weekend, I was struck by how the characters handled those that were different from them.

The other reindeer, Rudolph’s own father, and even Santa aren’t sure what to do with this little reindeer who has a shiny nose.

The elves disparage one of their own, Hermes, who just wants to be dentist instead of making toys.

As a result of their shared sadness, Rudolph and Hermes run away together where they find all sorts of adventure that leads them to the Island of Misfit toys.

On the island, they encounter toys who’ve been discarded because they aren’t “normal”.

A Jack in the Box named Charlie. A choo choo train with square wheels. A bird who can’t fly. An elephant with spots.

All of them are considered misfits and echo the refrain, “We’re a couple of misfits. What’s the matter with misfits? That’s where we fit in!”

In the gospel it seems that’s what Jesus is telling the crowd.  Yep, he’s a misfit and so am I. Both John and Jesus bring a whole different worldview and the people notice. They are not what anyone expected and are as surprising to the people as a reindeer with a shiny nose.

What does it look like for us to be misfits? To be people who are willing to go against what’s safe and comfortable, and become the unexpected presence of God for the world. To stand out from the crowd and firm in who we are created to be.

Beyond that, how do we engage those who are deemed misfits in our world?

In the play, we see Rudolph and Hermes become advocates to Santa on behalf of the toys they’ve met. The toys tell them that a toy is never really at home until a child loves it.

The image of finding home in the love of a child struck me as particularly poignant this time of year. After all, isn’t that the message of Christmas?

A child coming into the world to offer salvation and hope.

To shake things up and make us see each other in a new light.

To offer us a place of refuge and a home full of love.

May you go throughout your week embracing the ways that God is calling us to be misfits for the Kingdom, while flinging open the doors for the ones who are cast aside, and finding rest in the child that is Jesus.