I guess at one time or another we have all worn something bizarre or inadvertently had a fashion ‘faux pas’. Those hot pants (not me, I might add), multi-coloured tank tops, platform shoes or groovy bell bottom trousers (all from the 1970s if you’re wondering). Or for you, maybe it was a hairstyle or make-up or some other adornment that made you stand out and look very different from the crowd, or so you hoped.
And then there are the places that we’ve lived or visited.
I’m always fascinated by the people that TV celebrity Ben Fogle visits in his popular series ‘New Lives in the Wild’ – the extreme, challenging and at times, frankly ‘bonkers’ places that folk end up going to live for one reason or another.
History is full of people who became famous for being a bit weird – for what they wore and where they ended up. It’s recorded that in 18th-century England, wealthy landowners developed a bizarre craze for “Ornamental Hermits.” They would build fake caves in their gardens and actually hire a man to live in them. The contract often required the hermit to wear a druid’s robe, never cut his hair or nails, and remain silent for years. It was weirdness as a fashion statement—a “wild man” bought and paid for to amuse guests.
In our Gospel reading for this Sunday we are in Matthew 3, and meet the original wilderness man, but there was nothing neat, tidy, attractive or amusing about him. John the Baptist was genuinely, uncomfortably weird. He didn’t wear a costume; he wore a scratchy coat of camel’s hair held up by a leather belt. He didn’t eat normal meals; he survived on locusts and wild honey. And he certainly didn’t stay silent.
When the religious elite came to see him for themselves, John didn’t entertain them. He called them a “brood of vipers.” He wasn’t there to add atmosphere to a delicate garden party; he was there to challenge every aspect of their lives and through his challenging words, burn away the dead wood of their hearts.
As we journey through Advent, John the Baptist stands as a stark contrast to our own “ornamental” preparations. We often treat Christmas like those 18th-century landowners – decorating our lives with lights and tinsel to cover up the silence we fear. John challenges us to be a little “weird” this season.
Maybe that means stepping away from the noise of consumerism. Maybe it means speaking and embracing a truth we’ve been avoiding, or stripping away a habit that comforts us but doesn’t feed us. John reminds us that the Jesus doesn’t come to a well-manicured garden, but to the wild, unprepared places of our hearts and lives.
As we journey through this holy season of Advent – this time of waiting and preparing, don’t be afraid to look “strange” to the world this week by prioritizing silence and prayer over noise and spending. It might be just the thing we need.
Revd Paul