What if I preached like John the Baptist? What if I were as blunt, as confrontational, as shockingly direct as he is? What if I stepped into the pulpit and began like this: “So what brought you slithering in here today? You sons of snakes. Why are you here? To get out of the cold? To see your friends? To feel good about how faithful you are? Don’t tell me how long your family has been in the parish or how many committees you have chaired. I want to know what you are doing with your life. Where are you going? If you are here to change, to open yourself to God, then show it. And if you are not…then go ahead – crawl back into the hole you came from.”
If I preached like that, what would you do? Call the Bishop? Complain in the parking lot? Fire off an email? Leave and never come back? Or…would you change your life?
Most of us don’t want messages like John’s – because many of us, in one way or another, have settled. We are not settled because everything is perfect; we are settled because we are tired. We are overwhelmed. We are busy. We are disappointed. We are cynical. We have created a way of living that gets us through the day, and we don’t want anyone disturbing that fragile balance.
And yet Matthew tells us that people flocked to hear John: the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, even the Pharisees and Sadducees. Why seek out someone who calls you a brood of vipers?
Because deep down, we know the truth John names. We know the cracks in the veneer. We know when we are out of balance, when we are not living who we truly are. We know the habits we keep, the fears we avoid, the relationships we resist. And after a while, it is easy to shrug and say, “That is just how it is. That’s just me.”
That is when we need John the Baptist.
Not because he tells us we need to change – we already know that. But because he reminds us that we can change. That God has not closed the book on us. That a different future is still possible. His message is simple and urgent: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
For years I thought repentance was mostly about behavior – feeling bad, trying harder, doing better. But life teaches us that even when we try our best, things do not always go right. So, what if repentance is something deeper? What if it is about returning to our truest self? What if it is about reclaiming our integrity, not betraying who God created us to be? What if repentance is an inner turning before it is ever an outer action? Maybe repentance is like learning to walk – not about never falling but about getting up again.
Maybe it is simply turning toward the future instead of resigning ourselves to the past. Maybe repentance is choosing hope when hope seems impossible.
And repentance does not have to be dramatic. It begins with one change. So let me ask you the questions John would ask:
What is one change you could begin today that would bring more wholeness to your life? One change that would deepen a strained relationship? One change that would soften your heart toward someone who is hurting? One change that would open a path toward forgiveness – of another or of yourself? One change that would help you see beauty, or love yourself, or trust God more?
One change.
A new start.
A future.
That is Advent. Something is coming – something holy, something hopeful, something new. So repent – not because you are bad. Repent because you are worth it. Amen.