ADVENT 2B - Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8 - 7 December 2008 (December 7 is also the Feast of St. Ambrose) - A sermon given by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

Ambrose, Advent, and Repentance

INTRODUCTION - A little about St. Ambrose...

Today is the day designated for our patron saint, Ambrose. Ambrose was born around 337. In 373 he was a Roman governor in Milan, Italy - sort of like being a mayor today. He got involved as a mediator in a tense election of the Bishop of Milan in 373. The Arian faction and what we now call the Orthodox Christians were not exactly seeing eye-to-eye, either in their theology, or in who should be the next bishop. Whatever he said to the convention of delegates, who were about ready to riot, was so persuasive that suddenly both sides shouted out, “Ambrose shall be our bishop!” This would prove to be a little bit of a hurdle for the Church, since he was a catechumen - studying the Christian faith and preparing to be baptized - but not a baptized Christian yet. But the people would not be denied, and Ambrose was baptized, ordained a priest, and then consecrated the Bishop of Milan on this day in 373. All of that happened in eight days! (Those who get ordained these days probably have their own reactions and feelings come up when they hear this, I’m sure.)

I’m not going to go into everything about Ambrose’s life today. That would take too long, not to mention the fact that it would ruin our little quiz on Ambrose’s life that we have passed out in the bulletin today. He became known as for his persuasive preaching, which was an important factor in Augustine - who would become one of the great theologians in the Christian faith - becoming a Christian. Ambrose introduced antiphonal chanting to the liturgy, and became known for writing practical discourses on such things as baptism, the Trinity, the Eucharist, and Christology. There is also a legend that soon after Ambrose was born, some bees landed on his face, and when they flew away, there was a drop of honey on his face. His father took this as a sign that his son would become an eloquent speaker. The tradition was developed, and Ambrose became known as the patron saint of beekeepers, and images of bees and beehives have been associated with him ever since.

One of the things that Ambrose is best known for is standing up forcefully to Theodosius, who was the Roman emperor from 379 to 395, and the last emperor of both the Eastern and Western parts of the Roman Empire. After a Roman governor of Thessalonica was murdered by rioters in 390, Theodosius was responsible for the massacre of 7,000 people in that city. When Theodosius tried to come into worship one day at the Cathedral in Milan, Ambrose met him at the door and would not let him enter. Ambrose told Theodosius “to imitate David in his repentance as he had imitated him in guilt.” Ambrose forced Theodosius to do three months of public penance before readmitting him to receive the Eucharist.

What would that look like today? It would be like the Bishop of Washington meeting the President of the United States at the front door of the National Cathedral in Washington, and saying, “No. You’re not welcome here until you do public penance for ___________. After you do that public penance, I’ll decide when you are ready to be readmitted to Holy Communion.”

You see now that our church is named for a saint who was a great preacher and teacher, a man who cared enough about liturgy to write some original hymns, a man who became associated with beekeeping. In addition to all of that, our church is named for a man of faith and conviction, who wasn’t afraid to stand up to the most powerful man in the world.

ADVENT AND REPENTANCE

Perhaps Ambrose was a little bit like John the Baptist.

There is a little dialogue that goes on in the Church today that has to do with comparing Advent and Lent. Some say Advent is a penitential season, like Lent. Some say it’s penitential, but not as penitential as Lent (sort of a “Lent-lite”), and that’s why many churches have changed the color of Advent from purple to blue. Others say that Advent isn’t really a penitential season at all, but is more about waiting and preparation and expectation.

I don’t have a final answer for you. You do find the themes of waiting and preparation and expectation - not to mention the theme of increasing light and the theme of the Second Coming - in Advent. And, if our readings are any indication, there is also the theme of repentance. Right off the bat today, in our Collect, we hear, “Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation...” And always, on the second Sunday of Advent, the people who put together the Sunday lectionary have us hear from John the Baptist. You can call John a lot of things, but “Lent-lite” would not be one of them. I always imagine John with his neck veins bulging out. Intense might not be a strong enough word. And what does he preach? Repentance. Repentance - loud and clear. If he had been at the Temple - and he evidently wasn’t that type of guy - he would have been standing at the top of the front steps, right in front of the door, and preventing a lot of people from entering. (If that would have been his choice, we might call him “John the Bouncer” today.) But instead, he was at the Jordan River, and if people could hear his message and not walk away, and still be persuaded to approach the water, he would baptize them, as they were “confessing their sins”. (Mark 1:5)

John is clearly meant to stand in the tradition of the prophets. He is seen as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 40. He is the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. In the wilderness... in the chaotic, scary, upside-down places of our lives... the prophet cries out and calls us back to God. Mark certainly saw John as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, for he quotes from Isaiah 40:3 right before he introduces us to John.

So maybe we should look at the word “repentance” for a few minutes. In Greek, it is metanoia, and it originally meant “to change one’s mind”. It can include the notion of feeling remorse, as in being sorry for one’s sins. But as the word is used in the New Testament, it means way more than either of those. It means to do an about-face, to turn back to God - to turn away from whatever false gods you might be following, and from whatever evil is pulling you away from God, and return. But it means even more than that. Metanoia means to experience conversion - to be so convicted of the need for God in your life that you throw in your whole lot with Christ. If you need an image, think of Simon Peter and Andrew and James and John getting up from mending their nets, and following Jesus.

Think of Matthew, the tax collector, leaving the tax booth. Think of Mary Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been cast out (according to Luke 8:2), following Jesus. Think of the Samaritan woman at the well, who had had five husbands, and the man she was currently living with was not her husband (John 4:18), so freed from her conversation with Jesus that she proclaimed to the neighbors who had shunned and despised her, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” (John 4:29)

This is metanoia - what the Bible translates “repentance”. It has something to do with being sorry for your sins. But mostly it has to do with being so enamored with what God has to offer in terms of new life and true freedom and transformation and real calling and growing into love that you say to yourself, “Man, what in the world have I been doing? I am a total idiot. I have been giving ultimate meaning to things that are far from being the Ultimate. I have been worshiping people or things that do not deserve my worship. And what has all this gotten me? Frustration, depression, self-destruction, shattered relationships. I need a whole new life. I need God. Only God can give me what I am seeking.”

That, in effect, is what Ambrose said to Theodosius, the Emperor, and to Augustine, the playboy, who wasn’t really sure if he could give up his old life. This, in effect, is what John said to all the people who heard about him and, whether due to curiosity or to skepticism or because they saw an opportunity to ridicule a very weird man, found themselves going out to him, by the Jordan River.

And this is the good news that Jesus also proclaims to us. For after John had done his job in preparing the way for Jesus, and was arrested, Jesus did not shy away from his calling. He didn’t say, “Ooh, I might get arrested, too.” No, he entered onto the very same stage that John had just exited, and the first words out of his mouth sounded a lot like John’s. He did add one new theme - the kingdom of God. According to Mark, this is what Jesus said: “The time is fulfilled [you’ll be hearing more about that in next week’s lessons], and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:15)

GOOD NEWS

The good news is that seasons like Advent and Lent, whether they be about preparation or expectation or repentance or all three, are about conversion and new life.

The good news is that God offers us this whole new life in Christ Jesus. Jesus doesn’t say too much more to us, really, than “Come. Follow. See. Do what I do. And you will know God. You will learn how to love. And your life will be infinitely better. More joyful. More meaningful. More authentic. More alive. More creative. Just more. It will be more abundant.”

This is the call to conversion. It is a call to give up the old life, which really was pretty crappy. If you can really be honest with yourself, you’ll realize that’s true. It is a call to a whole new life - life with God - and a whole new way of being with God.

And when you take on this life, and know what you have discovered, you can give up being the mayor of a relatively insignificant town. You can give up most of your wealth, and invite your clergy to eat with the poor. You can even stand up to the Emperor of the entire Roman Empire when you need to, because you realize that there is a lot more at stake in the world than saving your own skin, and you remember that your Lord gave up his life, so that all of us could have this new life, and when he was killed, God gave him back his life - never to die again.

CONCLUSION

What do I need to repent of today? Always a good question. It is especially a good question when we realize that the answer has a lot to do with the new life God is calling us into, and whether or not we can fully trust God, and embrace what he has in store for us. It is not just about feeling sorry for something we’ve done. It’s more about whether you and I can be open to the complete conversion that God wants to bring about in our lives, and then say, “Lord, I embrace you, and everything you want to bring about in my life. Let’s go. That old stuff was just dragging me down anyway. I’m ready for the good news that comes when I follow you.”