Matthew 3:1-12
December 6, 1998
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco
Climbing a Tree on Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve last year, I was climbing a thirty-foot ladder against our brick fireplace chimney trimming and topping off a holly tree. You see, our son, Greg and his fiancee, Heather was coming home for Christmas. I wanted to use our fireplace on Christmas morning without burning down the whole neighborhood! It was getting dark and cold and we were about ready to attend our church’s Christmas Eve service. Trying to clean up all the cuttings as quickly as I can, I pulled on a much larger cut branch than I realized and it came crashing right down on me—between my eyes. I was very lucky I wasn’t hurt more seriously except a big bump right here and a pair of mangled glasses. I was out on a limb or more accurately the limb was right on top of me!
When you climb out on a limb, you better be ready to take some ridiculing! Especially when you’re doing a dumb thing that I tried to do last Christmas. The kind of limb-climbing that I did last Christmas didn’t require any training. Joy would say, there should have been! There are natural limb-climbers. I can see an inquisitive cat on a limb. Or maybe it’s a tree-dwelling 8-year old daredevil. Perhaps it is a solitude-seeking teenager or a father who is showing his daughter how to fly a kite. Climbing a limb may also be anyone in love.
But for all Christmas-celebrating Christians, when we go out on a limb, are we willing to take some risks?
John the Baptist
Nobody went out on a limb with quite the same audacity as John the Baptist. Called to play the role of Jesus’ Elijah, John seemed to take delight in clambering out onto some of the highest and most visible limbs he could find.
First, John climbs out on the limb of personality. Instead of trying to appear like a reasonable fellow with a seasonable message, John decks himself out in an odd outfit that clearly has the “Elijah” designer label sewn into it. This wild man wore a scruffy, scratchy “camel’s hair” held together by nothing more than an old leather belt around his waist. By making this fashion statement, no one who gazed and gawked at John the Baptist could miss the theological significance of what he stood for.
Second, John climbs out on the limb of protest. Without any sense of being politically correct, John confronts his adversaries head on. He called the Pharisees and Sadducees a “brood of vipers” when they came to be baptized by him. He challenged the religious authorities’ sincerity in repentance. He taunted them about trying to run away from the judgment that will come to them and questioned how worthy is their work. John even said that just because they can claim that they are descendants of Abraham would not
grant them any special favors because God can even raise up children of Abraham from these rocks. John was out on the limb of protesting against the establishment.
Finally, John climbs out on the limb of proclamation. This is the most important limb John is climbing on. He was declaring that God is about to do a daring act in the lives of common women and men gathered there on the banks of the Jordan River. John said,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.”
While he was baptizing with water for repentance, John declares, “the one who is more powerful than I is coming after me.” God is inaugurating a new era of divine presence and purpose.
John the Baptist went out on a limb with his personality, his protest against the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and his proclamation of God’s new creation.
What limbs are you out on? Why do you want to be out on a limb?
Rules to Being Out on the Limb
There are three rules to being out on the limb.
Rule #1. You go out on the limb because that’s where the fruit is.
When we prune fruit trees, we know to prune the branches back in order to force the fruits to grow bigger and sweeter. John the Baptist knew so many people who were weary and searching for meaning in their lives. The answer to their life’s questions is found in the Messiah to come. You can imagine John gladly dangling from the end of a limb proclaiming the new fruit, the coming of the Messiah. When Jesus finally arrived on the banks of the Jordan to receive John’s baptism, John knew that his limb-climbing days were over. He had at last reached out and grabbed the “fruit” he had been longing for. The Messiah had come.
Just as John the Baptist looked to Jesus as the Messiah, we as limb-climbers look to Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are out on the limb because of our faith, not in spite of it. For us to practice our Christian discipleship, we are willing to climb out to the end of the limb to gather the good fruit, Jesus Christ. It is only for Jesus that we commit our lives to God.
Rule #2. If you go out on a limb, go out on a big one—there is more support.
John the Baptist knew that he needed some credibility in what he was saying. Probably the most revered prophet at that time was Isaiah. John invoked Isaiah’s authority by quoting from him. Isaiah was a highly cultured man, perhaps of royal blood, and often advised the kings of his country.
When we give testimony to our Christian faith, we must also be prepared to bear witness with authority. Knowing our Bible stories equips us to tell how God continues to work in history. Deepening our faith helps others see how the power of Christ is performing great things in our lives. Becoming a member of the Christian community strengthens in us the support and love that we can spread to others in search of a home. When we go out on a limb, let it be a big one—like what we have at the First Chinese Baptist Church.
Rule #3. If there is no fruit on the tree, cut it down and plant again.
When we first moved into our house in Pennsylvania, we had two apple trees. One we almost immediately cut down because it stopped bearing fruit. The other one, much larger was producing apples that were not sweet. In time, we had it taken down as well.
John’s indictment of the Pharisees and the Sadducees reminds us that not all trees bear fruit. Perhaps there was a time when the religious leaders in Jesus’ time were assisting people to become faithful to God. But not now. John implied that the Pharisees and the Sadducess were not bearing fruit worthy of repentance. He said,
“Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees: every tree therefore
does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Trees that can’t be depended upon for good fruit, God will cut down and use for other things.
What are some things at FCBC that need to be cut down because there’s no more fruit?
In the next few months, we may need to cut down some of the old habits and rigid traditions that could easily stop us from retrofitting and renovating our church home for more effective ministries. We may need to cut down the attitude of “We’ve never done it that way before!”
In the next few months, we may need to cut down some of the debilitating perceptions that we have of each other as we move creatively and joyously to affirm the self-governing status of our Sunset church plant. We may need to cut down the perceptions of suspicion and mistrust.
In the next few months, we may need to cut down some of the doubts and fears that we may have about our future directions so that we can become boldly committed to reaching persons for Christ. The mission before us will require mighty acts of faith. We may need to cut down the reservations that we have of doing a new thing for Christ.
When God cuts down trees that no longer can bear anymore fruit, God can still use them for other things. God doesn’t waste anything. Some of the best firewood comes from fruit trees. The wood can be used to shed light and give out much needed heat. What we cut down will eventually become rich soil for new trees to grow. These new trees will bear much fruit and will be stronger because they have grown out of the traditions of the old ones.
Cutting Down a Christmas Tree
For years our family would drive out in rural Pennsylvania to cut down our own Christmas tree. Once out of the car, our kids would run up to the very first tree they saw and said, “How about this one, Dad?” I would say, “No, I don’t think so. These are near the parking lot. I think they are more for display.”
As we look yonder, we realized that there were hillsides of Christmas trees to choose from. So many that they look like the little trees in your Lionel train set. I said, “Let’s go farther to find our tree.”
While we started to walk along the paths of the trees, we began to notice trees that were passed over. Some had crooked trunks. Others had uneven limbs. Some were plainly too tall for most homes. Along the way, there were freshly sawed off stumps where other little children and their parents have found their special trees for the holidays.
Pretty soon our kids got the message that the farther and deeper we go into the Christmas tree farm, the nicer the trees may be. Before we realized it, our car in the parking lot now looks like the little cars you would have in your Lionel train set.
We were now standing amidst many trees that were beautifully shaped. We have gone no one has gone before! The farther and deeper we went into the tree farm, the more beautiful the trees were.
The message is clear for us. The farther and deeper we climb on the limb is where the best fruits are. Will you climb out on some limbs this Christmas season? Perhaps it is the:
Limb of Reconciliation. Is God calling you to crawl and inch your way out to meet someone with forgiveness and love?
Limb of Intimacy. Is God calling you to let go of your pride and hardness so that you can disclose your thoughts, hurts, and dreams with your spouse who’s longing to really know you?
Limb of Risk-taking. Is God calling you to take a risk for God’s greater glory?
Limb of Service. Is God calling you to Christian service in a way that you’ve been resisting?
Limb of Trust. Is God calling you to believe in someone even though you have been hurt before?
Limb of Healing. Is God calling you to accept emotional and spiritual healing for some long-festering wounds?
The season of Advent and Christmas gives us many opportunities to examine our faith commitments to Christ and our interpersonal relationships with one another. I pray that during your times of prayer and your participation in the services of Advent that God will speak to your heart in ways that will bring you healing and reconciliation.
Jesus, the X-treme Limb-Climber
You might be saying, “I can’t possibly climb on a limb” or “It’s easy for you to say, but me, out on the limb, no way.”
We CAN go limb-climbing because God did. The greatest limb ever climbed was when God came into the world as a little baby.
“X-treme” limb-climbing is what Jesus himself did. Jesus himself went out on an unbelievably precarious limb for the sake of the whole world when he was nailed to those cruel limbs of the cross.
God did it for you. Jesus did it for you. The Holy Spirit now wants to do it through you.
Let us pray.
O Merciful and Loving God, we offer ourselves to the ministry in your realm on earth. Call us to be “out on a limb” of faithfulness to your plan for us and for our church. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.