Musings

Dec

17

Breaking Silence

A sermon preached at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Port Chester, NY on Sunday, December 17th, 2017 (The Third Sunday of Advent)

Readings: Isaiah 61:1-4, 81-11; Psalm 126; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28

 

In this day and age, we read this passage from John’s Gospel and celebrate John the Baptist as a prophet, a saint. We name our churches after him, we lift up his name in hymns, especially during Advent, because he was the one who prepared the way of the Lord. Sure, he was a little weird in his clothing choices and dietary preferences but, on the whole, we appreciate him for his role in paving the way for Jesus.

It is easy for us, 2000 years later, to forget just how extraordinary John the Baptist really was. How much courage it took him to be the lone voice crying out in the wilderness, how risky it was for him to speak his truth, how much strength it must have taken for him to insist to crowds of people who were ready to worship him that he was not the Light, not the Messiah, but a messenger and a witness. John is a true prophet in every sense of the word: willing to speak truth to power whatever the cost, not afraid of public shaming and scrutiny, so sure of who he is and what God has called him to do that he can endure taunts, imprisonment, and eventually, execution without losing his integrity.

When we hear the word “prophet,” I think many of us imagine someone who can predict the future. But, in the Bible, prophecy actually has much more to do with the present. Prophets don’t arise in times of peace, when everything is going well. They appear on the scene in times of crisis, in pivotal moments when a breaking point has been reached and humanity has a choice to make: change, or suffer dire consequences. Prophets show us the untenability of our current way of life. They tell us the truth that none of us want to hear. They are not afraid of upsetting the balance of power, or calling out the rich and powerful, or making people extremely uncomfortable…and they suffer for it.

As we come to the end of 2017, it’s clear that, at least for the United States, this has been a year of reaching our breaking point. Both as a society and as individuals, we are faced with the question: what now? How will we respond to the enormity of hate and evil that has been unveiled in the past year? Will we stay silent, telling ourselves that our voice wouldn’t make a difference anyway? Will we remain bound by our fear? Or will we look around us for the prophets rising up in our midst, for those modern day John the Baptists, and take the risk of joining our voices with theirs in denouncing evil and testifying to the Light?

Two weeks ago, a group of modern prophets appeared on the cover of Time Magazine. The coveted honor of Person of the Year, often awarded to Presidents, Popes, and other celebrities, went to a group of women – black, white, Latina; young, old; famous and ordinary. They were called the Silence Breakers: women who had reached their breaking point in keeping quiet about the sexual harassment and assault they endured at the hands of men, some famous, some nameless. The article included harrowing tales of hotel housekeepers being cornered and assaulted by guests, movie stars receiving death threats from their producers, example after chilling example of abuse that has become so widespread, so sanctioned by collective silence, that it has become normal. All of this comes on the heels of the trending social media hashtag #metoo, which went viral overnight when an actress dared to share her experience of sexual assault on twitter and awoke to over 30,000 voices proclaiming that she wasn’t the only one.

Like John the Baptist, most of these Silence Breakers felt like a lone voice crying out in the wilderness when they dared to speak out. Like John, their truth telling was met by everything from ridicule to death threats. Their prophetic message was too dangerous to be heard; it threatened to expose an epidemic of disrespect for human life that has festered everywhere from corporate boardrooms, to movie sets, to church sacristies, to the White House for generations. Their prophecy confronts us with a choice: will we hear their difficult, painful truth and allow it to change and convict us? Or will we, by our silence or our murmured remarks of “it can’t really be that bad/she must be exaggerating/but he’s such a good guy” allow the epidemic of violence, of abuse, of sin to continue?

Prophets like John the Baptist, like these Silence Breakers remind us that the coming of Christ that we’re waiting for is a profound threat to the powers that be, both in the world at large and within our own hearts. The arrival of Love and Truth in a world filled with hate can be violent, because it exposes evil for what it really is. When the Prophet Isaiah announces that the Lord has anointed him to bring good news to the oppressed, proclaim liberty to the captives, and release the prisoners, that’s great news for the oppressed, the captives, and the prisoners. But it’s a death blow to oppressors and to everyone who profits from the abuse of others. The arrival of Love in our midst is deeply threatening to a lot of powerful people. And when people feel threatened, they attack. It’s why women who speak out against their abusers often end up being scoffed at, getting fired, or suffering physical harm. It’s why John the Baptist ended up with his head on a platter. It’s why Jesus ended up dying on a cross. The truth is a dangerous thing.

But, as Christians, every single one of us is called to follow in the footsteps of John the Baptist, to preach the truth, to witness to the Light that is stronger than the darkness that surrounds us. To boldly insist that the way things are right now is not the way they will always be. That change and healing are possible; that they are, in fact, already underway. All around us, crooked paths are beginning to be made straight, by the bravery and faithfulness of ordinary people who stand up for love and justice. Powerful people are being ousted from their thrones by those they have oppressed: on Tuesday, a child abuser failed to win a highly contested senate seat in Alabama because black women turned out in full force to vote against him. All around us, mountains are being brought low and valleys are being exalted.

Don’t think for a moment that this Gospel reading is just an account of something that happened 2000 years ago. This scene between John the Baptist and the Pharisees is playing out in real time right now. The question is, which character are we? Confronted by the bold and uncomfortable truth of prophecy, how will we react? Will we take a risk and join John the Baptist, the Silence Breakers, and prophets everywhere in their truth telling and advocacy for the oppressed? Or will we, whether by our silence or our words, ally ourselves with the Pharisees, with the powers that be, and fight the arrival of Love, the arrival of Justice, the arrival of God?

Today, my prayer for all of us is that we might encourage and strengthen each other to take the risk, to be brave, to join our voice with John the Baptist and cry out in the wilderness. Because the time is NOW. Change is coming, injustice is dying, and Love is arriving. The question is: are we ready? Amen.