:: in.a.mirror.dimly ::

Last week I was working on a sermon about John the Baptist. It was the good ole’ brood of vipers passage where he’s announcing the coming of God’s Kingdom and calling the people to repent: standard fare for Advent I’d say.

Then I asked a question. “Why was John announcing the Kingdom in the wilderness?”

There are a few lines of reasoning we could follow here, but one came to mind that I’d never considered. When John set up shop in the wilderness he had leveled the playing field for his audience, making the Gospel message available for all.

If he’d started with the religious establishment he would have automatically limited the scope of his message, to say nothing of the religious leaders who would have most likely tried to tame his message or at least use it for their own gain. The Gospel message started in obscurity on the margins—something that doesn’t strike us as good strategy—because it could reach everyone there. Starting with the elite in the city would have naturally ruled out a large number of people.

However, when John placed himself in a position where only God could make his message spread, the people came and soon the religious leaders showed up as well. In the end, he reached everyone. As the leaders stood on the banks of the river he called them a brood of vipers with the rest of the people. The Kingdom of God brought equality in the very location that the message was proclaimed. Where we preach the Gospel really does matter.

I knew then that God has a way of spreading his message that I would have never dreamed of. The wisdom of God appeared to me, tossing aside my own notions and goals.

This was a holy moment, a brief glimpse of God’s Kingdom. I sensed the Spirit of God cracking open my mind, guiding me to the ways of a God I could never imagine.

I know some folks find the Bible dry, boring, and hard to understand. I know that atheist Richard Dawkins mocks Christians such as myself as having “imaginary friends.” When I think about that, I’m quite sad that they haven’t met God in such a revolutionary way. I can’t say why they haven’t had the same experiences, but it’s my prayer that whether atheist, Christian, or whatever else, that those who immerse themselves in the scripture meet the Spirit of the living God and meet the God who challenges  and changes us.

I need to be in the Bible every day. I am far too sinful to depart from God’s life-shaping narrative. I need to be reminded that sin has no place in my life, that worshipping and loving God is supreme, and that my own desires must be surrendered to God’s Kingdom priorities.

That’s the kind of stuff I can’t figure out on my own. That’s why I need God’s counter-narrative in scripture.