God's Difficult People

God’s Difficult People

Kathleen was a difficult person. She sat in the front row with her brother at the 8AM service every week. It was like looking at a picture of American Gothic. All that was missing was the pitchfork. What a way to start off a sunny Sunday morning! I think she disapproved of me. After all, I was Irish. I married an Italian. She arranged her face in every imaginable contortion when I preached. I don’t think she liked what I had to say. Even when I tried saying things I hoped she’d like, she made faces. 

One day in a fit of pique she called me on the phone and told me in a somewhat pompous tone; “In view of Christian Charity, I think we need to agree not to speak to one another.” 

Considering how things were going between us, I managed to say; “My good woman, that’s the first nice thing you said to me since coming to this church!” 

Some time later, she was hospitalized and she was informed by her doctor that she had a very serious heart condition. She had but a short time to live. She was my parishioner, so no matter what, I visited her. When I came into her hospital room, she broke into tears and she poured out her heart to me. We prayed together as she prepared for enter God’s nearer presence.

The day had come, thank God, for forgiveness. 

What does it mean to you to forgive and to be forgiven?

How many times are you to forgive? Seven?

How forgiving are you?

Jesus taught us to pray; “forgive us our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us.”

The word “forgiveness” takes center stage in the Gospel Proclamation. 

John’s ministry of proclaiming forgiveness occurs at a particular time and place. It was in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, AD 14-37. Toward the south in Judea, Pontius Pilate was the governor, AD 26-36. Herod was the tetrarch, that is to say a regional overseer in Galilee, an area north of Judea; 4BC—AD39. Further north still, well north of Samaria are Ituraea and Trachonitis, regions ruled by Philip; and then Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene also in the far north. As to the High Priesthood at the time, Annas was succeeded by Caiaphas. Luke makes clear that John’s ministry extended over a period of time, and covers a significant amount of geography. 

John’s ministry was one of proclaiming forgiveness of sin through the waters of Baptism. There were probably difficult folks then too, families had feuds, folks were likely estranged from one another. 

John proclaimed a message of forgiveness to a people who lived under a brutal regime of the aforementioned strong men. It was welcome news and John was much beloved. His was a voice of one crying in the wilderness or so it seemed. So much of the news then must have fallen on jaded and disheartened ears. 

The occupation forces and the repressive tactics of oppression made life cheap then. Many’s the time, coming and going in and out of town, someone would be hung upon a cross to die as a sign to anyone who might dare to question authority.  The power of contemporary dictatorial leadership was absolute. You were not free to question the authorities. 

Democracy was long forgotten from that brief shining moment in Athens when folks were free to debate vigorously and then vote. It would be a long, long time coming before folks were free again. 

Democracy does not come easily. And when it does, it can disappear through an erosion that is hardly perceptible unless people are especially watchful, involved, informed and well educated. So wrote the Founding Fathers of our Democracy. 

But back to John! Imagine meeting John, with his fierce fervor telling you of your place in God’s salvation plan. Imagine him telling you of God’s forgiveness. Imagine John baptizing you in the River Jordan. His message to you was that you were free from the bonds of political violence. Free from hate! Free from feuding pettiness. Free from your own inner demons!

Imagine John telling you; now you are God’s own child. There is a whole new kingdom that belongs to God, and you are a citizen of that kingdom. When you become a citizen of that kingdom you are born again. You are alive forever. 

It was John’s belief that he was sent to announce the coming of Jesus; the Word of God made flesh and blood. He got all excited when he told his followers;

'Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’"

This is exciting news. The Great Leveler is coming to us. 

How can you contain yourself when you think about it. In the eyes of The Great Leveler there is no rich and poor, slave and free, male or female. There are no outcasts. Whoever you are; no race, ethnicity gender, class, or orientation can separate you from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You are all One in Jesus!

John is the one, who in Salvation History, proclaims the Advent of the new ministry of Jesus.

John was born to Elisabeth. She had been a childless woman, until the Archangel Gabriel announced that God had found favor with her. Zechariah held the new born baby in his arms and exulted in God’s Salvation plan like Hanna had done at the birth of Samuel, and in the way Mary would do at the birth of Jesus. God’s surprises the humble poor with the gift of life because of the goodness they exemplify in this world. Zechariah’s mouth is opened after a long silence, and his tongue is freed to sing; 

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *

He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *

born of the house of his servant David.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, *

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

John was a prophet. He came to warn us about the error of our ways. Life is too short for all the hatred. This is why repentance is at the heart of forgiveness and Baptism. John is God’s messenger. He is like a refiner’s fire, like fuller’s soap. He seeks to purify us and make us clean. 

Ultimately John got himself arrested and beheaded. After all if you proclaim something about a King and a Kingdom, you can make a paranoid schizophrenic Tetrarch very nervous. Talk about difficult persons! Herod and Pilate had no idea of what John and Jesus meant about his Kingdom and his Kingship. How could they? They had no idea of God, repentance, forgiveness, and eternal life. 

But God is our stock and trade. Forgiveness, repentance and eternal life are all mixed into the waters of Baptism where you and I were washed and made pure and clean. 

Forgiveness is a tricky business because it may require facing some rather difficult persons; there may be mental illness, substance abuse,  and hateful, hurtful folk. The truth of the matter is that there are too many difficult personalities in life. Good Lord, we cannot even govern ourselves because of political gridlock. Truth be told, each of us is a difficult person to somebody!

Thankfully, I’ve learned a thing or two about dealing with difficult persons in the years since I first encountered Kathleen. 

Listen up sinners! John is still here proclaiming Baptism as the Way to forgiveness. He is still a voice of one crying in the wilderness. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord!.”

Empty you hearts and let go the hurt. Breathe in the fullness of God’s sacred silence into your empty lungs. There it is. Don’t wait for the doctor to tell you that you have the very worst kind of heart trouble and you have but a short time to live.

Now is the time to repent and believe! Now is the time to make room in your heart for Jesus. It’s never too late. Kathleen and I found this out a very long time ago. And Kathleen, I pray for you now as I pray for you often. Kathleen, won’t you pray for me too!

In the Name of God; the Most Holy, Undivided, and Everlasting Trinity. Amen.

Fr Paul