Sermon: Becoming strong in spirit (the Birth of John the Baptist)

Luke 1:57-66,80; Isaiah 40:1-11

There are some things in life that are impossible - like not being able to see our faces except in reflection. Hearing what people’s expectations of us at the time we were born is another.

 

We’ve just heard a gospel reading about a baby whose birth provoked a lot of comment. The sense of expectation and excitement is tangible. This was a longed-for, miracle child for very elderly parents long past the age of child-bearing. He was truly a gift from God. There had been odd events which set tongues wagging, beginning when his father, a priest, returned dumb from temple service in Jerusalem, and then his elderly mother withdrew from village life and eventually it was obvious that she was pregnant. Now there was this healthy baby boy and great rejoicing among all the neighbours.

 

Eight days later his mother – who would not normally speak in the circumcision ceremony – interrupted proceedings to stop the men calling him Zechariah after his father, saying his name was John. When the dumb father was consulted, he also named the baby John and, to cap it all, started to praise God after nine months of being dumb.

 

The result was fear among all the neighbours and news spreading like wildfire in the region. People started to ask what it could all mean. Zechariah, had no doubt about what his son will do: echoing God’s words to him when he was told he would become a father, this baby would be called the prophet of the Most High and will go before the Lord to prepare his way. This baby was going to fulfil all the expectations and yearning of the nation.

 

It was a good thing John could not hear all this. What a weight of expectation on his shoulders, not just from his parents but from the whole community, and, indeed, from God. All parents have high hopes for their children but there’s a fine line between hopes that hold out opportunities in contrast to fixed fixed expectations that a child is forced towards fulfilling. We cannot have a master plan for other people’s lives; hopes and dreams certainly, supported by the help, encouragement and freedom to become who God has made them. The challenge for Zechariah and Elizabeth was to raise John to be himself so that he could be what he was called to be for others. I remember my father saying, on more than one occasion, when I was frustrated because I couldn’t do something, “so long as you do the best you can, that is enough for us” and I’m so grateful that, rather than some unrealisable attainment, was what was expected of me. I wonder what people said when each of you here today was born, and what they expected for and of you. I remember standing at the foot of the hospital cot looking at the first baby born to friends of my age – a growing up moment for me – and her father wondering aloud what the future held for her. Our newest Cathedral baby has been to church and Sunday School every Sunday since his birth about 6 weeks ago and so we can guess that he will grow up to be nurtured in the Christian faith and, knowing his parents whose cello and violin music many people appreciate during the Good Friday liturgy, that he will be musical. But beyond that, who knows?

 

God has given us the gift of each other to love, respect, enjoy and encourage, but not to control. John was first and foremost a gift to Zechariah and Elizabeth, and I sense tht is how they received him. Some children grow up with enormous expectations on them, often from parents or grandparents. It is impossible to live up to other people’s expectations and it is not just in childhood that intolerable expectations are placed on people, the Archbishop of Canterbury has faced totally unrealistic expectations of what he could or should do and we should be grateful for his godly leadership of the church rather than complain that he does not fulfil our particular expectation of him. It will be the same for the first female bishop who will bear all the unrealistic hopes and fears of people she has never met.

 

On the other hand, there are good and healthy expectations of us. God is always out in front of us, calling us to be more than we thought possible. I have always been influenced by something I read in the 1980s, that vocation is not an external calling but an internal growing up into oneself, a constant waking up to God, a journey into the unknown with God (Dominic Gaisford). You and I are called to grow up into ourselves, constantly waking up to what God is making possible in our life. If you have spent your life trying to fulfil the unrealistic expectations of other people, now is the time to stop. If you don’t know who God is calling you to be, now is the time to start finding out. Peter Sinclair began a two stage workshop yesterday for people who are asking themselves questions about what their calling is. If you missed that but are interested in the questions, you might want to join the Faith and Life course which the diocese will be starting in September, details of which are on the diocesan website and will be advertised soon in the Sunday leaflet.

 

You may be surprised where this leads you. It may be into something quite unexpected or it may be to something that you has always been your ambition but you needed the courage to pursue it, or affirmation about that the path you are on now. For some, it may lead to ordination - next Sunday two former members of the Cathedral community will be ordained here; Ben began training almost straight after leaving University, Kate had a job for a few years before beginning training. Other former members of the Cathedral community will be ordained in Lincoln and Newcastle, and we have more in training.

 

We celebrate John the Baptist’s birth today and heard from the Gospel of St Luke. Luke is interested in telling us about his birth but makes only a passing reference to his death, whereas Matthew and Mark tell us about his violent death but ignore his birth. As some of you know, I write the weekly lectionary column for Church Times and their deadlines mean I am always a few weeks ahead of where we are in the church year. So I have already written the column for three weeks’ time when the death of John the Baptist comes round in the normal course of lectionary readings. Thanks to that, in preparing this sermon I have had his death in mind as well as his birth and I have been thinking about what happened in the years that followed in the light of the expectations on John at his birth.

 

If the people around John at his birth had high expectations, on the face of it they were dashed as John’s life unfolded. John’s parents were very elderly and it is likely that he was orphaned as a child. We know he lived in the wilderness and scholars speculate that he was raised at an orphanage for the children of priests which was run by the Essene community, the ruins of which have been found in the desert. He emerged from the wilderness to proclaim the coming of the Messiah, gained a following of disciples whom he then encouraged to follow Jesus, and eventually was imprisoned by King Herod whom he condemned for marrying his brother’s wife. While in prison he had doubts about whether Jesus was the Messiah, and sent his disciples to ask Jesus who affirmed his calling. This child, who bore so many expectations and was so faithful, ended up with a hard life, imprisonment and execution.

 

His parents never saw what John achieved. Next week this Cathedral will be full of proud parents celebrating their children’s graduation. Some of you here will be receiving your degrees and we congratulate you and, if you are leaving Durham, send you on your way with our prayers and best wishes, thankful for your part in the Cathedral’s life. Expectations may or may not have been met; whether you are thrilled or a little disappointed at your academic achievements, I hope you take from Durham, especially the Cathedral, a sense that it has been a transformative time for you.

 

The gospel reading we heard today ended, “The child – John – grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.” “He became strong in spirit” – that is the crucial phrase because that is what enabled John to face the uncertain future. For all of us, whether or not we are graduating, the more important question is not about our academic ability, our vocational work skills, our musical, artistic, athletic or any other sort of gifts and prowess, but whether we are growing strong in spirit, growing up into ourselves, waking up to God in our lives as we go with God on a journey into the unknown. For some, that journey looks scary and is one we’d like to avoid if we can – unemployment, cancer or other illness, disability and limitation, bereavement or any of the other hard things that happen to people. For others the journey looks hopeful with new and unexpected opportunities and blessings. Wherever it leads, we go with God.

 

The connection of John with the wilderness is why we heard from Isaiah of the voice crying, originally to exiles separated from their home by a vast wilderness, “In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord.” The wilderness environment was harsh, but formed John into the man he became who could endure what was coming to him. It is the same for us, the circumstances of our life may be harsh at times, but even there our Christian character can be honed and formed, we can grow and become strong in spirit.

 

We sang in our opening hymn that we will respond to the message John the Baptist proclaimed,

 

Come then and hearken, for he brings

Glad tidings from the King of kings.

 

Yea, let us each our hearts prepare

For Christ to come and enter there.

 

Your vocation as a baptised Christian is to hear God’s glad tidings, to be open to God and to grow up into yourself in God, to become more than you dream possible because God is leading and guiding you day by day. We do this through small steps in daily life. Take a new step this week to grow in love for God. If you don’t read the bible each day, begin now so that you grow to know God better: the Cathedral shop can provide bible reading notes to help you understand what you read. I commend the diocesan courses and the Benedictine Week. There are endless opportunities for practical service: the foodbank, Street Pastors, visiting housebound people. We will meet Godin the people we meet there. For all of us, John’s call comes ringing through the ages inviting us to respond to God’s gracious love, and to become strong in spirit.

 

Luke 1:57-66,80; Isaiah 40:1-11