Sermon for Sunday, December 7, 2008

Message:  Prepare Ye The Way of The Lord: Substituting Compassion for Consumption

Scripture:  Mark 1:1-8

“The mountains and the hills will be made low and every valley shall be lifted up. The crooked will be made straight. The rough ways will be made smooth.” Much like Jesus in the temple, in the saying of these scriptures, we fulfill them. We are to be voices crying in the wilderness- crying out for paths that are not so unnecessarily cluttered with the mountains and the pitfalls of the powerful - crying out for peace for all flesh. We are to follow his example, maintaining domination-free relationships in a discipleship of equals that includes all flesh – a peaceable kingdom.

Look at the life of Jesus –the Prince of Peace. Most scholars agree, Jesus himself rejected the titles people tried to give him. Even the way he entered into this world speaks to a disdain for domination. He was a king whose throne was a manger, whose wealth was a cross, whose crown was made of thorns. His very life confronts the economic inequities that are the basis of domination.

In that peasant society poverty, taxation and brutality kept the poor in their place. Our modern day sensibilities dress those methods in the clothing of social programs that promise economic and social upward mobility. The problem is, that while individuals are able to rise up above their class, the system itself and the consumer ideology keeps us from looking critically at the domination system out of which we operate. It is the system that needs to change not just the people, but the system is built to call our attention away from that undeniable fact. 

What we need to do is change our penchant for consumerism into passion for compassion and then we need to let that perspective guide us to dismantling systems of domination. Breaking with domination means ending the economic exploitation of the many by the few. John the Baptist set the tone “Lower the mountains; raise the valleys; make the crooked straight.”

In announcing Jesus’ arrival John the Baptist set the stage for what Jesus would be about, what God's peaceable kingdom would be about– making modern day deserts a manageable thing for all flesh, for all people. In order to prepare the way for the Lord, in order to begin to taste what the peaceable kingdom of God here on earth might be like, we must lower the mountains and raise the valleys - if you have more than you need share with those who do not have enough, begin dismantling systems that support consumption and domination.  

As Christians we should stand more strongly in our convictions and start looking critically at the domination system out of which we operate. We should stop shopping at stores that get their goods from places that require workers to perform for little pay in substandard and sometimes unhealthy work conditions. Which means not buying clothes from places like Wal-Mart and even Target. We should stop buying food from places that take advantage of migrant workers as they overlook human rights in an effort to provide cheep food. Which means we stop eating at places like McDonalds, Taco Bell and Subway until they correct their dominating ways (like all three have in their most recent cases). We should stop allowing our consumer oriented lifestyles to destroy our environment. We should show compassion to workers around the world by buying Fare Trade goods, so that we can be insured that no one is being dominated or taken advantage of because of our support.

This Christmas, let's honor the greatest gift of all by giving the world the greatest gift we can give it - peace, real peace.

I hope to see you this Sunday for the rest of the sermon!