I Wanna Be Like John

This sermon was delivered at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on December 10, 2006.

Malachi 3:1-4
Luke 1:68-79
Philippians 1:3-11
Luke 3:1-6

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Have you ever wondered about the origins of products or their trademarks? (Just me? Oh well, I was a business major in college.) One America’s best known brands is a sports drink called “Gatorade.” This drink replaces fluids and electrolytes helping rejuvenate and restore the body after physical exertion. It was invented in the mid 1960's by scientists at the University of Florida at the request of the athletic department, particularly the football coaches. The mascot of the University of Florida is the Gators, thus, Gatorade.[1]

In the early 1990's, Gatorade faced serious competition for domination of the sports drink market from Coca Cola’s PowerAde. Since Coke has the resources to be the 800 pound gorilla in any room it enters, the folks at Gatorade had to get serious about their marketing, lest everything they had built be lost.[2]

So in the third year of the presidency of George Bush the elder, when Bill Clinton had served as Governor of Arkansas for thirteen years (the last nine consecutively), and in the twelfth year of the papacy of John Paul II; Gatorade secured the services of Michael Jordan as their advertising spokesman. At the time, Jordan was the shooting guard for the Chicago Bulls and probably the best basketball player ever to walk the face of the earth. The first ad featuring Jordan showed him playing ball and having a wonderful life featuring this little ditty: For just one day if I could/Be that way/I dream I move/I dream I groove/Like Mike/If I could Be Like Mike.[3] The campaign was called, “I Wanna Be Like Mike.”

Yeah, I wanna be like Mike. By most standards, Michael Jordan had it made. He was then, and probably still is, the most talented basketball player ever. He was named “the greatest athlete of the 20th century” by ESPN, and was second only to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press list of top athletes of the 20th century.[4] Also between his basketball and endorsement contracts, he was making obscene amounts of money. He was happily married, had two sons and was about to star in his own feature film with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck called “Space Jam.” Who didn’t want to be like Mike?

Today our readings take us into the life and work of John the Baptist, the Son of Zechariah. John is venerated by his faith, and today we read Luke’s introduction to John and his work. So, who is John the Baptist?

When we read the first verse from chapter three, we learn all we need to know about the powerful people of the day. Tiberius was the emperor in Rome, Pilate was Governor of Judea, and Herod ruled Galilee. In the Temple, Annas and Caiphas were the high priests. John, the son of Zechariah was in the wilderness. John was what we would call a “nobody.” He was such a madman that he wore camelhair in an arid climate. He ate grasshoppers and wild honey. He was nobody, he was poor, he was far, far off his rocker; and the Word of God came to him. So John is nobody in the eyes of the world, especially the powerful people. And the Word of God came to him. John is important to God.

The next important thing about John is found in his proclamation. Also found in the book of the prophet Isaiah, John cries, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” The next important thing we need to know about John is that his importance is only defined in the life and work of Jesus.

This is difficult for us. Society teaches us that we are to be valued for what we do or who we are. But John is only important in the light of who he is in relation to Jesus. Zechariah’s canticle, our call to worship this morning, points to this while outlining the pathway of salvation for the nation of Israel. Beginning with Abraham, moving to David, onto John, and finally finding perfection in Jesus, John’s role in the salvation history of Israel is transitory. He is a link in the chain. He is vitally important to that chain, but no more so than anyone else. John is only important for his work in the Kingdom of God, but this is what makes him important.

Finally, as odd as John is compared to the norms of his day, or ours for that matter, his message is just as unusual. John proclaims a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Repent has an interesting history in our language. Literally it means turn around. History has been full of very specific ways people have been called to turn their lives, but I want us to be general. John is a sober model for discipleship. John has turned from the world to serve the creator of the world; and he calls us to turn from our earthly lives to a life more directed by God. Our focus is not to be toward ourselves, we are to turn from our world to life in Christ.

So, are we willing to stand out like John? Are we willing to ruffle feathers like he did? Are we willing to speak out against the conventions of society like John?

Over the last thirty years or so, there has been a shift from greeting people at stores with “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays.” Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart where I am often greeted by a man who offers me a shopping cart and invites me to fill it to the top. I was surrounded by an animatronic singing polar bear and his penguin back up singers, plastic lighted crèche, six foot high inflatable snow globes, and the dulcet sounds of “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” from the Redneck Christmas CD.

Recently, a group has fought to get stores to stop wishing their customers “Happy Holidays” and return to “Merry Christmas.” Their battle cry: It’s time to put Christmas back into the holidays!
Are we willing to stand out like John? John would stand in the middle of this and cry, “You want to put Christmas back into the holidays? Well I say it’s time to put Christ back into Christmas!” Thank God for the Salvation Army bell ringer at the door. This is someone who stands in front of the doors that guard the altar of commerce crying “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his pathways straight.”

So, what’s it like to be Mike. Yeah, he had it made back in the 90’s. Today, Michael Jordan is still acclaimed as the greatest basketball player ever. He still has endorsement contracts. His family has added a daughter since Bush the elder was president. But constantly looking for the juice that lifted him to new heights on the basketball court caused his gambling to reach new lows. Because of this, he has lost much. Gambling, infidelity, and other factors nearly cost him his marriage. As venerated as he is, he has proven himself to be human, all too human.

Being John looks to be a lot tougher. John was an outsider. To the world he was a no account rebel rouser pointing in a direction he was shown, but had not yet seen. Last weeks readings told us to wait, this week’s tell us to prepare. John is human, all too human, just like the rest of us. But John shows us a way of living we talk about today. He tells and shows us how to prepare for the coming of the Lord. As for me, I wanna be like John.

[1] http://www.gatorade.com/history/born_in_the_lab/
[2] http://authorviews.com/authors/rovell/rovell-obd.htm
[3] Pitzel, Bernie, “I Wanna Be Like Mike”, Bayer Bess Vanderwarker, Advertising, 1991.
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jordan#Personal_life