December 23, 2018 – “Attitude of Gratitude: The Truth” by Rev. Cody Sandahl

Lay Reader = Luke 1:39-55
39In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” 46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Introduction
We are almost – but not quite – there ! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! Christmas Eve means we’re almost at Christmas Day! Christmas Day means presents and good food! We’ve been hearing good tales of Christmas spirit all over the news. Good times!
And yet our Scripture today starts off with John the Baptist calling the crowds “you brood of vipers.” “Mission Control to John – did you get the Christmas Cheer memo? It was on bright candy cane striped paper – hard to miss it.” John is such a buzzkill, right?
It reminds me of the pilot episode for a show we just started watching – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. One of the first scenes features the main character, Midge, giving a rousing celebratory speech at her wedding reception. She thanks the Rabbi. She thanks her father. She proclaims her undying love for her husband. And then her walk-off line, to this esteemed gathering of upstanding Jewish folk – “And yes, the spring rolls have shrimp in them.” And she walks off with a smile. The Rabbi throws his arms up and walks out in a huff – shrimp aren’t kosher.
In the midst of a wonderful party, Midge dropped a little nugget of truth on the party-goers.
John the Baptist does the same today. Yes, it is glorious news that Jesus is born. Yes, it is glorious news that God is with us. Yes, it is glorious news that we have a Savior in-person. But here’s John to drop a little truth on us as we party.
Luke 3:7-18
7John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
15As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
False Flattery
It was the year 2000. And I had a website. That’s all that was required back in those days. And it was in those heady days of the dot-com bubble that I, freshly-graduated from high school, not quite a freshman in college, owner of a website, received an offer in the mail.
“Dear Mr. Cody Sandahl. We would like you to know that you have been pre-approved for a new line of credit for your online business. Enclosed is a credit card with a limit of $750,000. Simply sign the enclosed letter and return it to accept this incredible offer!”
Never mind that my website was not, in fact, a business. Never mind that my website did not, in fact, even attempt to make money. Never mind that I was not, in fact, even legally old enough to own a credit card. $750,000…pre-approved!
It makes me wonder. What on earth does pre-approved mean? If you can’t even check if age is greater than or equal to 18, what are you checking? What would it take to get pre-denied?
Now this offer might sound good – especially to a 17-year-old discovering his new-found freedom after high school. But then again – what good would come from a 17-year-old owning a $750,000 credit card? And even if I had signed the paperwork, I’m pretty sure – not 100%, but pretty sure – I would have eventually been denied because of my age.
It was all a sham. It was false flattery. It wasn’t real. And even if it had been real, throwing $750,000 with a high interest rate at a teenager going into his freshman year of college is a bad idea.
Have you ever received such false flattery? Fake compliments or endorsements? Shallow praise? Maybe it even felt good for a moment, but you knew it wasn’t real?
Uncomfortable Truth
One of the reasons people thought John the Baptist was a prophet was that he wasn’t selling a sham. He wasn’t known for false flattery. He wasn’t telling people what they wanted to hear to make them happy. That’s what false prophets did. Real prophets were known for saying uncomfortable truth, not happy thoughts.
I’ve shared before that John the Baptist was in a rather inconvenient location. Even now, the tourist trap – I mean holy site – dedicated to John the Baptist is actually located at a spot that’s more convenient than the real one. If that spot is in the middle of nowhere today, imagine how out of the way it was back then.
So the first people who came to be baptized by John were really motivated. And they were so transformed by the experience that they told others. And then those people were transformed and told others. And before you knew it, John the Baptist was all the rage! His remote location was the place to see and be seen.
It’s kind of like Burning Man. It started in the 80’s with a few friends burning a wooden sculpture on the summer solstice as an act of radical self-expression. Then it moved to a remote location in the Nevada desert and started growing into a community event. By the mid-90’s there were a few thousand people. By the turn of the millennium there were 25,000. By 2010 there were 50,000. Now they cap it at 70,000 tickets and it costs several hundred dollars for the right to express yourself in the Nevada desert. It’s now a thing. It’s an event. It’s a place to see and be seen.
Or maybe you knew about a band before they became famous? What happens when a band becomes famous? The early people start saying the band has “sold out” and the new people don’t “get it” like the original fans do.
We humans are kind of pack animals. We flock to the same things. And sometimes that means we’re just showing up because other people are showing up.
That’s why John lays into the crowd. He knows that many of them are there for the spectacle, not the transformation. Jesus did the same thing. Whenever he started gathering crowds because of his fame instead of his teaching, Jesus said something controversial and difficult. The timing wasn’t a coincidence.
When I was in seminary I had a semester as a chaplain at one of the local hospitals. It was early on, and I wasn’t totally sure what I was doing. Visiting someone you know in the hospital is one thing, but cold calls on sick people is a different mindset. Near the end of the uncomfortable visit, I offered to pray with her. And she said, “If that will make you feel better.” Ouch. That was uncomfortable truth about my efficacy as a chaplain during that visit.
The previous summer I took over as the children’s director at the church where I was doing my internship, because their children’s director was on maternity leave the whole summer. It was my first paying gig in ministry. I had everything organized. I had all the volunteers lined up. I was in the room early along with the music person. It was about five minutes before the kids arrived, and I asked the music person if I was missing anything. He replied, “Well, if you keep pacing around like that I think everyone’s going to be just as nervous as you are.” I said, “Good point,” and sat down. That was uncomfortable truth.
Would you rather hear false flattery or uncomfortable truth? Would you rather live in a pleasant fiction or face reality? Think about that for real. The answer to that question may be uncomfortable, because most people don’t like to be challenged.
The Good News About Uncomfortable Truth and High Expectations
When we were in high school, my brother was pretty short but was a really good basketball player. But he had a fatal flaw – his jump shot was really flat. Your shot is supposed to arc up and then sink down into the goal. That’s true for everyone, but if you’re short, you really need to have some arc on your shot to get over the outstretched arms of the defender.
One day after school, my dad brought my brother out to our court and told him to shoot a 3-pointer. And for some reason my dad had a large piece of cardboard. My brother dribbled out to the 3-point line, wound up, and released his shot. THWACK! My dad swatted the shot away with the cardboard.
“Again!” he said. My brother dribbled to the side to get away and released a quick shot. THWACK! “Again!”
Over and over and over again. It was a popcorn and lemonade-worthy spectacle as the younger brother, and my goodness it looked like fun to be the cardboard-wielder. But what was the point? My brother wanted to be better at basketball, and to do that he needed more arc on his shot. Learn to shoot over a grown man with two extra feet of cardboard and you’ll have arc on your shot.
But my dad only did this once my brother was in high school. And my dad only did this once my brother said he wanted to get better. He didn’t swat away every shot when we were in elementary school. He didn’t force us to improve our skills when we were just having fun in middle school. It was only once my brother was capable of getting better and said he wanted to get better.
And that’s why our text today says after these harsh words from John, “with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” Why is it good news to get uncomfortable truth? Why can we be grateful for the truth?
Uncomfortable truth is good news because it assumes that the hearer can do something about it. The cardboard only came out when my brother was capable of improving and wanted to improve. It was a sign of respect.
Peter Drucker, one of the most-respected leadership and management experts today, said that, “Leadership is not magnetic personality. That can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people; that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.”
The woman telling me to pray only if it would make me feel better was implying that I had the capability to become a better chaplain. The music leader telling me I was pacing was implying that I could become a better children’s director. My dad swatting away my brother’s shot with glorious repetition was implying that my brother could become a better basketball player.
John the Baptist is implying that we can, in fact, bear fruit worthy of repentance.
John is implying that we can, in fact, be the kind of neighbors who share our extra coats and food.
John is implying that we can, in fact, be the kind of workers who are honest even when everyone else is being dishonest. That’s what he told the tax-collectors.
John is implying that we can, in fact, be the kind of leaders who serve instead of exploiting our position. That’s what he told the soldiers.
John is implying that we can, in fact, live lives that Jesus would consider to be sustaining wheat, not useless chaff.
That’s good news! That’s exciting! But it means facing the uncomfortable truth about the parts of our lives that might not be sustaining wheat yet.
Looking through Jesus’ eyes, what parts of your life need to be burned like chaff so that the sustaining wheat can grow with abundance? Looking through Jesus’ eyes, what parts of your life need to be sifted, winnowed, and cleared? Think about that. It might be uncomfortable, but it also implies that Jesus has something better in mind for you.
One Thing
The house I grew up in was right on Lake Austin. And we had our own boat dock right on our property, and all the water skiing gear you could wish for. We had a family friend who was an OK skier, but he was always trying to get better. So pretty routinely, he would bring an article from a ski magazine, and he had circled or highlighted like seven different things to try. And as he thought about all these changes – improvements to his technique – he would go from an OK skier to someone who couldn’t even get up out of the water. Too many changes at once.
As you think about the chaff in your life, the uncomfortable truths, don’t pick seven areas to work on. Just pick one, or you’re going to get overwhelmed by too many changes at once. My dad helped my brother work on the arc of his shot – that’s it. Just that one thing. Other changes can come later. Just pick one thing.
Look back over John’s list if you’re having trouble. John chastises people for following the crowd. He points out false pride, arrogance, and entitlement. He highlights selfishness and blindness to others’ needs. He calls out people in positions of authority for abuse and corruption and dishonesty. He even points out where people are following a false hope – in this case, people thinking he is the Messiah instead of Jesus.
Anything on that list ring a bell? It might be uncomfortable, but the implication is that John thinks you can raise your horizon, raise your expectation, and actually be better. It’s good news because it’s possible and because John believes in you.
That’s good news. John wants you to hear uncomfortable truth because he believes in you. Jesus wants you to hear uncomfortable truth because he believes in you. That’s a pretty good endorsement. Even if it comes with an uncomfortable truth. Amen.