Anybody for bridge-building?

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Amen. (Isaiah 11:1) Amen.

About five years ago, I heard that there was a ice storm making a beeline toward Augusta. The sky was mottled with high, wispy clouds and blue patches. It looked nothing like an impending ice storm. Then I learned that Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel was giving a weather report from the River Walk, I thought the Weather Channel had made a mistake; the sky still didn’t look much like rain much less a winter storm. Then it hit. All through the night snapping tree branches sounding like gunshots falling all around my house. For three days, we were without power requiring us to bunk over at my daughter’s home. Then, to make matters worse, while Marsha was rocking my grandson, Augusta experienced an earthquake. I began to believe that the second coming was imminent. In the future, if Jim Cantore ever broadcasts from Augusta, I’m leaving.

John the Baptist is important to all gospel writers. Each of the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, borrow from a bit of scripture from Isaiah as a foreshadowing of John the Baptist: The voice of one crying in the wilderness; Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Mt 3:3b). John the Baptist’s description in today’s Gospel has little to be envied, at least, from today’s perspective; he spent his days and nights in the desert, he wore itchy camel hair clothing, and he sustained himself on a diet of locusts and honey. Hmm! He is not someone you were typically hang with! However, there must have been something charismatic about this man. Imagine for a moment, crowds from across the Judean countryside travelling miles over a barren wilderness to listen to an emaciated, a “skin and bones”, prophet proclaiming the advent of a new age and a call for repentance.

Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, prophesized during the closing verses of this book that the Lord would send Elijah as a forerunner to the Messiah who would mark the “day of the Lord”, the end of days when the judgement of humanity would occur. John mirrors Malachi, when he states in Matthew, “Even 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.” (Mt 3:10) Elijah’s return after being taken into heaven by God was so anticipated by the Jews since Malachi’s time that their synagogues included a Chair for Elijah. After Jewish boys were circumcised, they were ceremoniously placed in Elijah’s chair to see if Elijah might prophesy that the recently circumcised was the anticipated Messiah.

Yes, the Jews hoped for the reappearance of Elijah because this meant that the “kingdom of heaven” was near. So, when John appears in the same desert where Elijah disappeared, wearing camel hair girded with a leather belt, and preaching similarly against wickedness, you can see that some might think that Elijah had returned. Although John denied that he was Elijah, even Jesus, when John was imprisoned, sings his praises and tells the crowds, “if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.”

Last Sunday Rev. Amy preached on liminal spaces, those transitional and transformative places between “what was” and “what’s next.” When I was doing research for my sermon on John the Baptist, the metaphor that came to mind for John the Baptist was “a bridge.” John is positioned like the two-faced Roman god Janus with one face looking backward and one looking forward. Regarding John the Baptist, one face is looking backward calling for repentance in a similar style of an Old Testament prophet and one face is directed forward announcing the dawning of a new age on the Christian stage. John the Baptist connects the Old Testament to the New Testament. John the Baptist connects the law and prophets to the good news of salvation.

As you are aware, I don’t preach as often as Jim, Amy, and Kirk. Don’t get me wrong; I’m sure that Jim wouldn’t mind if I preached more. I have the good fortune of picking and choosing which scriptures in our common lectionary that I preach on. I requested a couple of months ago if could preach today. It was because the historical and theological figure of John the Baptist spoke to me, and, no, it wasn’t that we share the same name. John serving as the bridge figure reminded me of the role of a deacon.

During the recent walkabouts in which the clergy and laity of the diocese had an opportunity to ask questions of the candidates for Bishop, I had one question which I asked each of the five candidates. I asked the question so many times that the moderator for the room turned to me, especially when no one was speaking, for my question. The question I asked was, “What is your conception of the role of the deacon in our Diocese, especially when our numbers are decreasing?” Each one answered in a similar manner, “The deacon has one foot in the world and one in the church. The deacon stands at the threshold bridging the gap between the needs of the world with the people who will “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the sick” in the name of Christ. Bishop Benhase told me once that I should be the “sandspur under his saddle.” I understood the sentiment, but I never pushed the limits with him.

This sermon is not meant to be a recruitment tool for deacons. However, if you want to know more about the process to become a deacon in the Diocese of Georgia, talk to me sometime during coffee hour. But, can you have a deacon’s heart even if you are not ordained? Yes! Whenever you identify a need in the world and mobilize others to join you in addressing it, you have a deacon’s heart. Whenever you connect the church with the needs of the world, you are, what I like to refer to, as “bridge building”. During the recent Diocese of Georgia Convention, the deacons of the diocese recognized our own Amanda Peacock for her leadership in addressing literacy through the Story Box Ministry. She realized that she couldn’t do it alone but was able to spark an interest in others to help. Currently, there are forty-six ministries at St. Augustine’s. Some ministries are directed inward in support of the church and its parishioners, which are important to a smooth functioning parish. However, there are several others besides the Story Box Ministry which bridge our church to the world. I won’t attempt to name them all for fear of forgetting one. If you are interested in knowing what these are there is a listing on the table outside of the church office. Approximately twice monthly, a team of St. Augustine’s serves meals to the hungry at Christ Church. Our senior ministries include recreational and support activities for the elderly and caregivers. The Canterbury Club, an Episcopal Church campus ministry, offers fellowship and sanctuary from the stresses of college life at Augusta University. You will notice that I didn’t include a “finally” when I introduced the Canterbury Club. This is because bridge-building connecting the church into the world is a never-ending task. Then [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Mt 9:37-38)