The original hipster - Rev Allister Lane
READING: MARK 1: 1-8
Despite his name, …‘John the Baptist’ could have been a Presbyterian!
He was called ‘the Baptist’ because he baptised people. That was what he had a reputation for doing. (He probably would’ve felt at home here at ‘St John’s’!)
We hear in today’s Gospel reading that, as well as baptising, John the Baptiser proclaimed a message. What was his message…?
REPENT!
This isn’t perhaps as harsh as we imagine (and I’ll say more about this in a moment). But John the Baptiser was calling people to turn away from sin and turn toward where God is coming.
Repent literally means ‘turn around’. Repentance is an action. This repentance John the Baptiser proclaimed, was for people to get ready for the coming Christ.
And now it is our turn to get ready.
John was Jesus’ cousin and a few months older than Jesus. He hung out in the wilderness, and by all accounts he was a ‘wild’ character. And far from being put off, crowds came to hear his fiery preaching.
I have a question you may not have considered before… Was John the Baptiser the original hipster? Before answering this, some of you may need to have an explanation of what a ‘hipster’ is!
Let me share a series of helpful definitions from the Urban Dictionary:
Hipsters are typically in their 20s and 30s, value independent thinking, counter-cultural, and speak out on social issues.
Clearly John the Baptiser was an independent thinker who spoke out on social issues. Shunning the mainstream, he made a place for himself in the wilderness, carrying out this alternative baptism and challenging the policies and practices of those in power.
Hipsters enjoy creativity, intelligence and witty banter.
It’s fair to say John the Baptiser spoke well and exhibited intelligence when speaking against the establishment. Combined with his counter-cultural ideas, he provoked ‘the man’ – to the extent that he had his head chopped off. John was a ‘bit too cleaver’ for King Herod’s liking.
Hipsters have messy hair styles including combinations of beards; they wear retro clothes often found at a thrift store and their style is not influenced by mainstream advertising and media.
Mark’s Gospel tells us
John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist (Mark 1:6).
Also, in every icon and depiction of John the Baptiser he has a scruffy look and long beard that rivals that of any modern-day hipster.
Hipsters typically eat organic and Fair Trade fruits and vegetables; preferring modes of transportation that are not harmful to the environment.
[John] ate locusts and wild honey (Mk 1:6)
And he walked everywhere. You can’t get more organic or eco-friendly than that!
Hipsters are often thought of as ‘trend-setters’ who start things before they were cool.
This is perhaps the most interesting similarity. John the Baptiser recognised the Messiah before anyone caught onto the idea. John was an ‘early-adopter’, who paved the way for others to believe in Jesus.
From these insights into this modern sub-culture, we can see how John the Baptiser was cool before all other hipsters!
Of course, what makes John the Baptiser stand out is not that he was the original hipster.
He stands out because he was challenging people about in their own lives. He stands out because he was proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah:
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
He stands out because what he wore, ate, and looked like located him on the fringe. By hanging out in the wilderness, he was figuratively and literally on the cultural margins.
Seeing all this in John the Baptiser helps us to see what he helped others to see: that Jesus is coming to do God’s new thing.
‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming…;
I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.
I have baptised you with water; but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’
The Gospel includes this strange detail we’ve noted:
John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist.
Descriptions of people’s clothing isn’t often included in the Bible. Why is it mentioned here?
To a Jewish crowd, this clothing would make them think of a famous figure of the Old Testament… The prophet Elijah wore similar clothing, which was part of what made him stand out.[1]
John the Baptiser was continuing the prophetic tradition. He was upsetting the status quo and proclaiming God’s new thing.
But it would be a mistake to see John the Baptist as a severe figure; a prophet of doom and gloom, demanding painful repentance and warning of dire consequences for failure to repent.
It’s true that John the Baptiser was tough and fiery. It’s true that his warnings were serious. But don’t be mistaken: his message was one of hope and joy.
John the Baptiser was a prophet of hope and joy, proclaiming that something wonderful was about to happen. He was the herald of God, preparing the way for the promised Messiah. Long-held hopes were going to be fulfilled.
His message to “REPENT” might be something we consider to be negative. But let’s be clear: repentance is an act of hope.
Remember I said earlier that repentance is the act of turning around…? John’s message is:
turn from what is dreadful to what is wonderful.
It is like turning from eating cold porridge – to eating a Christmas feast;
like turning from drinking out of a stagnant puddle – to a fresh cool waterfall;
like turning from a dead end – to a straight clear path ahead.
Repentance is a message of radical hope and joy.
Maybe it is time for us to travel into the wilderness and listen to John the Baptiser. In the wilderness of our own world, we find sanity in the message of John the Baptiser.
Let his challenge to repentance confront your present situation. Let the positive turn you away from the negative. Let the Messiah he heralded come into your life.
John the Baptiser is a figure who still urges us to turn toward Jesus, and the life and hope he comes to give us. This remarkable prophet can lead us to a Christmas which is rooted in the radical issues of life, and which celebrates a joy that out-rates all other pleasure or happiness.
Let’s get ready for it!
[1] This similarity to the prophet Elijah is more explicit in Matthew’s Gospel: “…if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” (Matthew 11:14)