Book Cover Judgments

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:5-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-15
 Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, December 15th, 2013

A printable PDf file can be found here

There's a song from the 1960's, written by Willie Dixon in 1962 and originally recorded by folk like Bo Diddley, Eric Clapton, The Yardbirds, and the Monkees, that has the title, “You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.” The lyrics of the first verse...

“You can't judge an apple by looking at the tree,
You can't judge honey by looking at the bee,
You can't judge a daughter by looking at the mother,
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.”

In our bible reading today, we learned that people struggled to accept the message of John the Baptist partly because he was not known for his fashion sense! Elsewhere in Scripture we are told he lived in the desert, wore clothes made of camel skin and ate a diet of locusts and honey. He did not dress (or eat) to impress.

Our Scripture reading pictured Jesus addressing the crowds about John;“What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.  This is the one about whom it is written: "'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'

Some of the last words written in the Old Testament, in the Book of Malachi, 4:5 read; "See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. “ Jesus tells the people; “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he (John) is the Elijah who was to come.  Whoever has ears, let them hear. “ (Matthew 11:2-15)

Appearances can be deceptive. You can't judge a book by looking at the cover. The way things appear may not be the most accurate representation of the way things truly are. It's ten days to Christmas Day. Christmas is sometimes pictured as the happiest time of the year. Parties. Presents. Peace and Goodwill to all people. That's how it can be pictured.

Yet we also know that for many people this is one of the hardest times of the year. The Christmas blues reach many. Family gatherings can be stressful. Seeing families gathered together, can be a reminder of distance, for families that are far apart. Empty spaces at family tables can remind people of the pain they feel for those they have lost.

Observing the money people spend on extravagant gifts can remind those who are financially struggling about the debt they can't seem to climb out of.  For many people the joy of Christmas is not what they are feeling!  They may put on a happy face, but inside something else is going on.

If you are one of those experiencing something of the Christmas blues, it can help to know that you are not alone. At the heart of Christmas is a wonderful message, that none of us are alone! God, in Christ, comes to us, dressed in humanity but endued with all the Grace of God necessary to guide us and help us through. It is a helpful thing to focus on the deeper meaning of the season, the Jesus whom John told us to be prepared for.

It could be that one of the reasons John didn't feel the need to put on a show for anybody was that he didn't want to get in the way of the message he was called to proclaim. He didn't want people to see him, he wanted people to see Jesus.  The nature of the ministry Jesus would establish, was not that of outward show and pomp, but of service and humility.

A youth group I had in a previous church were planning to go to a youth targeted meeting in their home town, hosted by a christian group we didn't know a lot about.  I couldn't go with them, but caught up with them the next day. “How was the youth meeting?” I asked. “Oh, we didn't go inside” one of them replied. “Why not?” I asked. “Well” they explained “There was a man on the door whose smile was too big”. Appearances can be deceptive. As Willie Dixon's song continues:-

You can't judge a fish by lookin' in the pond,
You can't judge right by looking at the wrong,
You can't judge one by looking at the other,
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
The people who went to hear John the Baptist had to look at him in a different way. He looked like a wild man dressed in skins and living off the land, but he spoke like a prophet of old. Maybe some of them knew that he was the son of the respected town priest, Zechariah. Maybe that didn't help because that made him a local boy! Mixed messages can confuse us.  Jesus encourages to look beyond appearances and tells us “If you have ears to hear, then hear!” (Matt 11:15)

You really can't tell everything about a person by first glances. If they are well-dressed, they could be genuine or they could be a con-man. If they look like they just crawled out of bed, maybe they have just crawled out of bed because they worked the night shift as a  surgeon at the local hospital. Some of the richest people in the world dress in their most comfortable clothes because they couldn't care less about impressing anybody. In order to know somebody, you have to communicate. If you have ears, then your ears have to do some hearing!

Jesus never looked at people as problems. He always saw the possibilities that God's love could bring to them. He was never  impressed by labels or titles. Some of the harshest words He spoke were against the religious folk who dressed the part, even acted the part, but had hearts that were just about as far apart from God as any could be. About John the Baptist, though Jesus did comment that his dress sense was not that of a palace dweller, He went on to say; “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist”. High praise indeed!

But He doesn't leave it there. He carries on; “Yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” When a person belongs to the Kingdom of God, they are clothed with the righteousness of God.  That is the mystery of grace. We are saved, by grace, through faith. To use scriptural language; though our righteousness is as filthy rags, God clothes us with glory. Not because of anything we have done, but because of everything that Jesus did.

No matter how we dress up or dress down, no matter how we appear to each other, in God's eyes we appear to be those who need a Savior, and that's why Jesus came! God … in the flesh... God Incarnate... God with us, Emmanuel. That's what we celebrate at Christmas. In Jesus Christ, we are claimed and adopted as God's precious children that He loves with a love that will never give up on us nor ever let us go.

We may not always look the part or even live up to our family heritage, but there's always a place for us at the table. No matter what others may make of us, ultimately it's God's welcome that defines us. Willie Dixon's song concludes:-

You can't judge sugar by looking at the cane,
You can't judge a woman by looking at her man,
You can't judge a sister by looking at her brother,
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.

John the Baptist came with a message of repentance. It was a message that offered a new beginning. Wash away the old, and begin again. It was a message that urged people to get their lives together, because something new was coming. When Jesus went down in the waters with him, then John declared, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world... this is what we've been waiting for... I baptize with water... He'll baptize with fire.”

Advent is a time for us to consider how we can de-clutter our lives in order that they may be embraced by the Grace of God. If we focus on the outward trappings of the season, the sad memories it may evoke, or upon the commercial excesses of this time of the year, it may well leave us with a case of the Christmas Blues.

John the Baptist offers us hope. Hope in Jesus Christ. You can't judge a book by looking at the cover. We can't truly celebrate Christmas until we get beyond the outward show of good cheer and see that behind it all is the simple, yet radical, notion, that in the birth of Jesus Christ, hope is here, help has arrived and our futures can be guided and graced by the Holy Spirit.

As we travel through this Advent season, may the true light of the love of Jesus Christ illuminate our journey. May the hope He brings eradicate our Christmas blues. May the perspective He offers encourage us to see all people through the loving eyes of Jesus. May His Spirit encourage us to turn aside from hasty judgments based on outward appearance and honor each other as much treasured Children of God.

'Truly I tell you,' said Jesus, 'Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.'

May God help us live into our baptisms as citizens of the Kingdom established through the ministry of the baby born in a manger in Bethlehem town. To God be the glory. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.