"First Impressions"

Dear Friends in Christ, 

            The text that serves as the foundation for my sermon today is found in Mark chapter one verse five. “And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”

Natalie, a college student at Butler University, came home from college for Christmas Break. Tagging along behind her was her new boyfriend Charlie who was meeting Natalie’s family for the first time. When they arrived at Natalie’s house, the dinner table was set and it was time to eat. After everyone sat down to eat they passed around a platter of turkey and when the turkey came to Charlie, he passed it along to Natalie without taking anything. Natalie’s mother noticed that Charlie didn’t take any turkey so she asked, “Won’t you have any turkey?” And with his nose in the air Charlie arrogantly asserted, “I refuse to perpetuate the merciless slaughter of innocent birds by eating their meat.”

            Natalie’s grandfather, who was sitting directly across the table from Charlie, finished chewing his mouthful of turkey. And with a great show he dabbed his lips clean with the napkin from his lap and cleared his throat and said, “You better watch it young man, your first impression is almost up.”

            First impressions. They are very important. I once took an entire college course dedicated to “first impressions.” The name of the course was Communication Studies Placement Seminar. It was an entire class devoted to helping those majoring in Communications find a job. We composed resumes, put together portfolios and did ridiculous amounts of research in our respective fields of study, but the large majority of the class focused on first impressions. When the professor graded the class’s resumes: paper quality, font consistency, visual appeal combined with spelling and grammar accounted for 90% of the grade. The remaining 10% of our grade was the content. When we took part in mock interviews: handshake quality, posture, dress and eye-contact accounted for 75% of our grade. The remaining one fourth of our grade was based on our actual answers to the interviewer’s questions.

            Countless books have been written about first impressions. Perhaps the most famous book dedicated to “first impressions” was John Molloy’s Dress for Success published in 1976. Just recently the book What’s Up With Your Handshake? was published by Mark Jefferies, a man who consults high-profile CEO’s and congressmen and women how to negotiate deals, manipulate opinions and make sales. And for those of you interested in becoming writers and publishing a book, Noah Lukeman’s book, The First Five Pages, will instruct you how to craft an eye-catching, memory-searing manuscript that editors and publishers cannot ignore.

            First impressions. They shape how we understand everything that follows them. Keeping this in mind, I find it bizarre that we are reading the first eight verses from the Gospel of Mark this morning. It is advent. The red and the green decorations are being splashed across houses and towns. Christmas lights beautify the yards of many-a-townsfolk. But Mark, good ole gospel writer Mark, has nothing to do with Christmas. I’m serious, Mark doesn’t tell us about the birth of Jesus Christ. Mark does not tell us about trip to Bethlehem. Mark does not even mention Jesus’ parents Mary and Joseph. There are no swaddling clothes or manger scene. Instead of these beautiful Christmas images we have the picture of an eccentric man wearing camel’s hair, a leather belt and eating grasshoppers.

I don’t know about you, but I’m left thinking, “You’d better watch it Mark. Your first impression is almost up.”

But Mark knows what he is doing and he’s making a very clear first impression. Prepare the way of the Lord.

During this Advent season we find ourselves preparing for the birth of Jesus Christ. And that’s great, because we have lots of practice in this area. In our everyday lives, when there is a baby about to be born, we do this “preparing” very well. Word goes out that the happy couple is expecting their child. Bedrooms are rearranged and repainted. Cribs and baby monitors are purchased. Family and friends put on a baby shower and shower the expectant couple with baby oriented gifts. Maybe the couple enrolls in some Lamaze classes to prepare for the birth. Names are tossed around for the new child, and doctors regularly check on the expecting mother to make sure everything is going to be ok. Oh, we’re very good about preparing ourselves for upcoming babies.

And we’re pretty good about preparing for Christmas too. We dig through our closets and find the Christmas decorations. We fill the tree with ornaments, we place scented candles throughout the house, and lights are strung along the eaves in preparation of Christmas

            We pen lengthy Christmas letters to send to our friends and family and spend hours addressing envelopes and sealing them shut in preparation for Christmas.

            We clean up our house. We sweep the entryway, vacuum the rugs, make the kids’ beds, and dust the shelves, all in preparation for Christmas.

            We buy gifts, we wrap them, and we place them under the tree, all in preparation for Christmas.

            We are well prepared for Christmas. I don’t think anyone would argue against that…except Mark.

After Mark tells us to “Prepare the Way of the Lord” he gives us a picture of a man doing just that. The man is John the Baptist and he is out in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord. He’s not preparing by stringing lights across his house. He’s not preparing by standing in long lines outside Wal-Mart at four in the morning. He is not preparing for the Lord by baking cookies and sending cards. Instead, John the Baptist is preparing by preaching one word, “Repent.”  It’s amazing really. This man in the desert who is wearing camel’s hair and eating grasshoppers is making a very powerful first impression. He’s a hot ticket item. He has sell-out sized crowds. Listen what Mark says in chapter one verse five. “And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordon, confessing their sins.” John is preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sins, and the people are listening. Are you?

I hope so. You’re here in church aren’t you? You left the hustle and bustle of all the Christmas preparations. You crawled out of warm beds and shuffled into cold cars and you’re sitting in pews that aren’t nearly as comfortable as your lazy-boy back home. And it warms my heart, because we have some preparing to do.

We need to repent because we are making some pretty lousy first impressions. Are you screaming at the kids to stop making a mess in the house? Are you making a rude remark to your spouse about getting a little help with the decorations?  Are you arguing about whose side of the family you’re going to visit this year? It’s high time we reassess our situation. After all, Christmas is 18 days away, and your first impression is almost up.

            Maybe I should remind you that Mark’s first impression is not of lowing cattle, bleating sheep, a manger scene, or a bright morning star, but rather of the almighty all-powerful God, in the flesh. He’s not some wimpy child in swaddling clothes. He’s not some baby who flees to Egypt in the face of danger, and he’s not some little kid who sleeps in a cattle trough. He’s the savior of the world. He’s mightier than the greatest prophet Israel has ever seen. He is so far out of our league that we are not even worthy to untie his shoelaces. Now that…that is a powerful first impression.

            Jesus asks the people of Judea and Jerusalem in Matthew 11:7-9, “Concerning John the Baptist…what did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?  What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.”

            I can ask you the same questions. What did you come to church to see and hear? A man giving you Christmas cookie recipes and baking tips? What then did you come to church to hear? A vicar giving Christmas-themed home interior design ideas? Of course not! People with this advice work for Martha Stewart. What then did you come to church to hear? A man pronouncing the forgiveness of sins? Yes, and I tell you, more than the forgiveness of sins. But the very body and blood of our Lord which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

            This is how we prepare for Christ. This is what Christmas is about. Christ. In the flesh. Come to the altar as broken sinners, because Christ wants to make an impression on you. He loves you, he died for you, he forgives you, he makes you holy. And when life weighs you down, he’ll pick you up over and over again.

            It’s a powerful impression don’t you think?

Amen.