Advent 2 - 2025
Sermon for Advent II, Year A
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
The Rev. Andrew McLarty
Every year around this time, several of my clergy friends post the same meme: a wild-looking John the Baptist—hair sticking out, beard tangled, camel’s-hair clothing dusty and worn—shouting, “Happy Advent, you brood of vipers!” It makes me smile every time. Because after a brief genealogy and Nativity story, Matthew's Gospel suddenly ushers in an adult John in full prophetic mode, storming into our December like someone kicking open the door of a holiday party.
And with him, Advent shifts. It’s no longer just candlelight, coziness, and familiar hymns—it becomes a season of clearing obstacles, opening space, and readying our hearts. John stands in the wilderness proclaiming, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” His cry is not gentle, but it is a gift. It reminds us that Advent is a time to prepare—not for sentimentality, but for discipleship.
And discipleship, at its heart, is not a program, or a checklist, or a church-growth strategy. Discipleship is relationship—relationship with Jesus, and relationship with God's people. It is learning to look at every person who crosses our path with love and with holy curiosity. It is remembering that our lives are not isolated but interconnected, woven together in God’s great story.
Often, when people think about discipleship, their minds jump straight to evangelism. And the word evangelism can feel intimidating—like a pressure to persuade, to convince, to win. But Advent helps us reframe it. Preparing the way doesn’t mean proselytizing. Proselytizing focuses on outcomes—on making converts, filling pews, or adding pledging units. Evangelism, in its original sense—euangelion—means something much simpler and much richer: Good News.
And the Good News is not a tool. It is not a marketing strategy. The Good News is a spiritual practice.
It is a way of action—embodying the love of Jesus in how we live. It is a way of reception—allowing the Holy Spirit to form us more deeply into Christ’s likeness. And the way we “evangelize” is simply this:
We seek, name, and celebrate Jesus’ loving presence in the stories of all people—and then we invite everyone to more.
Not more obligation. Not more attendance. But more God—more grace, more hope, more belonging, more love.
Advent reminds us that this is always “the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ.” Every year, the season invites us to begin again—to make room, to open the way, to let love overflow.
So yes—welcome to Advent. Welcome to the wilderness. Welcome to the strange prophet who calls us to prepare the way. But also welcome to the joy, the depth, and the beautiful calling of discipleship: to seek Christ, to name Christ, and to celebrate Christ in one another, even in the brood of vipers.
Amen.
