Brief synopsis of the readings: We continue to read from Isaiah; this reading is a few chapters later than last week. Isaiah continues to describe the coming Messiah, who we recognize as Jesus. Isaiah describes him having “a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.” Furthermore “he shall judge the poor with justice.” He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. He concludes this reading describing how enemies will be friends: “Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb.” Finally, “the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious. Matthew’s Gospel gives us a much different tenor. John the Baptist, preaching in the desert, calls for everyone to repent. He baptized many who did repent in the Jordan River. But when he saw the Pharisees and Sadducees he called them a brood of vipers. He ended this reading by describing one who will come and baptized not in water, but in the Holy Spirit.

In the weeks after Easter I speak about how the readings are backwards. The first reading (from the Acts of the Apostles) describe events that come after the events described in the Gospel. In a funny sort of way, these readings are backwards.

In one sense they’re not: Isaiah was written hundreds of years before Matthew. But we believe that Isaiah’s words describe a man we now know as Jesus, and in Matthew’s Gospel John’s message comes before Jesus. And both readings give us a strong flavor of these two cousins and how one leads to another.

There’s no easy way to say this: John preaches a harsh message. The message to repent means only one thing: there is need for repentance. Something is going on that God is not pleased with. Today we all recognize that we are all in need of repentance but we recognize that only because of our belief in the redemption of Jesus. When John preached he lived in a place where everyone believed God would judge them all as a whole.

Looking on this with 21st Century eyes I’d be terrified because I would have feared all of us would be judged by the actions of our worst. It was like being back in 5th grade where nobody got to go to recess because a few refused to behave.

But John’s audience didn’t see it the same way. They believed they kept the faith despite Roman occupation, and the Pharisees and Sadducees led them well. They understood God’s word and they were cared for by these smart, faithful men. Hearing their leaders described as a “brood of vipers” couldn’t have shocked anyone more. John preached a message that likely frightened nearly everyone but caused some to repent. He introduced something that all of us as Christians recognize: baptism.

And while I think most of us wonder about those who did not choose baptism, I’d like to talk about those who did.

Because what happens to those who choose repentance, choose baptism? Well, since our baptism declares (in our voice or our parents) that we will follow Jesus, we need to look carefully at the words of Isaiah. And yes, I understand that many of us were baptized as infants and had no need to repent; we can look at that through the eyes of following Jesus and always needing to repent for our sins. It’s also true of adults; even though baptism begins our role as disciples it doesn’t mean we need never repent again.

I’ve been told that 88 times in the New Testament Jesus instructed his disciples to follow him (I was told this in a sermon but haven’t verified it). If we believe it, we have no clearer path than our first reading from Isaiah.

The original listeners of Isaiah heard these words and hearkened back to King David. As Christians we read these words and hearken to Jesus. But I believe we should read these words and take them as our own.

If we believe we are called to follow Jesus then we are bound by the words of Isaiah. And while we who follow Jesus think about those who have been marginalized, we have to recognize our place as those who aren’t marginalized. We need to recognize that the fact that anyone who reads this homily is blessed. We are blessed with enough wealth to have a computer, internet access, and literacy.

Whenever I read these readings I think of a priest I lived with then I was a deacon: Fr. John Carr. When I met him he was 81 years old and lived with Parkinson’s disease. He felt self conscious because his hands trembled and he didn’t want to celebrate mass. But his hearing was excellent and he gained a reputation as a confessor. But his reputation as a confessor didn’t come from his hearing but instead from his compassion. Fr. John’s genius came from his ability to believe that we are all called to be Christ, and that we can. Every conversation I had with Fr. John convinced me that I had his full attention and that nobody else in the world existed. He wasn’t looking over my shoulder, he wasn’t planning his next encounter. To John I was all that existed. He lived his life embodying Isaiah’s call to be gentle and bring together the lion and the lamb. Nobody has taught me about ministry more than him. He died in 2011 and I love him still.

He taught me that we have the power to judge, if not in court, in our relationships. We should judge not from appearance but in favor of the poor. That means that we choose to befriend a coworker who needs an ally instead of someone who will advance our career. That means we choose to reach out to someone who is marginalized because of race, faith, sexual orientation, or political beliefs.

We have the power to strike the ruthless with the rod of our mouth. Maybe that means we stand up to a friend who speaks ruthlessly about a group that we know that he doesn’t. Maybe it calls us to challenge a racist, xenophobic, or sexist comment even when it comes from someone we care about.

And ultimately we have the power to bring enemies together. Woody Allen’s fame comes from hundreds of quotes, but one of my favorites is this: “The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won’t get much sleep.”

With all due respect to Woody Allen, I think that the calf will sleep well if we take these readings seriously. The repentance that John calls us to also calls us to recognize each other without divisions. It calls us to judge each other with mercy. It calls us preach truth to power in a way that gives power to all. It calls us to bridge the divide between enemies that calls them to see each other as part of the same team.

We are now in our second week of Advent, two and a half weeks from Christmas. We commemorate Christmas best when we commit to the world that John and Jesus calls us to.