Advent 3 C + Surprised by Joy + ACL+ 12.15.24

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Surprised by Joy
Advent 3C, 2024 (Zephaniah 3, Luke 3)

St Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula
The Rev. Alene Campbell-Langdell

 

C.S. Lewis titled his autobiography relating the story of his conversion to Christianity, Surprised by Joy.  As an atheist, Lewis was nevertheless aware of a longing throughout his life for something that he couldn’t quite name, something that always seemed just beyond his grasp.  He came to call these glimpses of desire, Joy, and to reference this longing as a real part of his journey from atheism to faith.

These moments are hard to describe, and yet, if we are willing to pay attention, most of us know what Lewis is talking about.  These are the moments when, despite all outward circumstances, there is a spark of life in the world.  That pink moment as the sun is setting over the mountains in Ojai or the stillness of watching a baby sleep when the whole world seems caught up in that moment.  Into Advent, in the midst of darkness and apocalyptic prophecy, comes the Sunday of Joy.  “Rejoice,” Paul says to the Philippians as he writes from prison, “again I will say rejoice” (Philippians 4:7).

At first glance, John baptizing out in the desert might not seem very joyful.  We aren’t told much about why John is out in the desert, but we can guess.  For hermits throughout the centuries, leaving the city to go into the wilderness was a way of protest.  It was a separation from the forces of injustice and the powers that oppressed people.  So, one can imagine John’s surprise upon looking up there in his desert place and seeing a crowd of people coming to see him.  And even more surprising, prominent among the crowd are tax collectors and soldiers two of the very groups who assisted the Roman Empire in maintaining control over the people.  “You little snakes,” John says, “who told you to run away from the coming danger?” 

These words are provocative, and yet I suspect they might have been said with a hint of a smile as none of the crowd listening seems to take offense.  Instead, the crowd expresses their own longing: “What should we do?”  John’s response is almost gentle.  To those with no power, he encourages them to notice what they do have and share that.  To those who have positions within the Empire, he tells them not to do more than is required of them. In his book, On Tyranny, historian Timothy Snyder notes, “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given.  In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked.”  He refers to this as “obey[ing] in advance.”[1]   John’s response encourages those who have positions of relative power not to let a desire for more power or wealth cause them to go even further than their job requires.  Don’t charge more than the actual tax.  Don’t use your position to coerce or defraud someone else.  Be content with what you have. 

These simple statements were enough to make the people wonder.  This teacher is teaching us how to resist the ways of Empire.  Surely it doesn’t get any better than this!  Is this God’s anointed One, sent to lead us into freedom?  But John is quick to listen to his own sermon.  He won’t grab power for himself even when offered with the best of intentions! 

John has been surprised by joy.  He can see the Spirit at work and so he points it out to the crowd.  Don’t you see that the wind that drove you out here to see me is much bigger than me?  I’m not even in the same league, John seems to say.  I’m not even household servant status.  The One who is coming is so much bigger than that.  There will come a time when all that is good and nourishing in your lives will be gathered and protected while the broken-down pieces that get in the way of abundant life will be blown away and burnt up. 

This is the message of Zephaniah.  Zephaniah has spent the first two chapters naming the chaff that has gotten in the way of God’s blessing.  Then in chapter 3, after describing God’s law being used “as a weapon to maim and kill souls” (Zephaniah 3:4, MSG), we hear that the shame of the outcast will be turned to praise (Zeph. 3:19) and that God will bring us home (3:20).  Despite the darkness of the world he lives in, at the end Zephaniah is surprised by joy. 

The crowd listening to John is also surprised by joy.  We are told that “with many other exhortations, [John] proclaimed the good news to the people” (Luke 3:18).  John has just finished saying that the One who is coming will burn the chaff with “unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:17).  To understand John’s words as good news, we must remember that chaff is not a synonym for people, no matter how bad we think they are.  Chaff is all the thoughts, words, and actions that maim and kill our souls.  Chaff is what convinces us that we don’t belong in this community—that we are outcasts.  This is what gets blown away and burnt up when the wind of the Holy Spirit comes sweeping through our lives. 

The One we anticipate with John this Advent is the One who will gather us like wheat into the barn, sweeping away our shame and the words that divide us and bringing us home. 

May you, like Zephaniah or John or C S Lewis, be surprised by joy this Advent.  May you find yourself at home when you thought you had lost your way.  May you hear in the desert God’s voice rejoicing over you in love (Zeph. 3:17).  And may all that seeks to harm you be scattered before the Child sleeping in the manger. 


[1] Timothy Snyder (2017). On Tyranny: Twenty lessons from the twentieth century (Penguin Random House, NY), p. 17. 

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