On Tuesday of this week…

the report by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner––

Kate Jenkins––

into the workplace culture of federal parliament was released.

Given some of what we have heard emanating from that place…

over the last year or so…

the report’s findings were not altogether surprising.

And yet, at the same time, they were still very disturbing.

Indeed, even Ms Jenkins, herself, was “a little shocked”.

More than fifty percent of current and former staff––

whom she interviewed––

claimed to have experienced “at least one incident of bullying, sexual harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault”;

and a third reported “some kind of sexual harassment”.

Needless to say, that behaviour was predominantly aimed at female staff.

Not surprisingly, it was found to be “largely driven by power imbalances, gender inequality and exclusion, and a lack of accountability”.

The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, responded:

“Just because this is a challenging environment… this is no excuse to normalise inappropriate, unhealthy, and unprofessional behaviour”.

 

On the whole…

no one who aspires to work in that place––

be it as a member of parliament…

or as a political staffer––

does so because they see it as a chance to wield that sort of power…

or engage in that sort of behaviour.

That’s not their prime motivation.

They aspire to work there because they want to make a difference;

because they want to help shape the direction and the future of our society… 

and our country.

They do it because, broadly speaking, they want to change the world.

We may not always agree with them in terms of their political ideology…

or their vision for our country or the world…

or how they choose to go about it…

but, with very few exceptions, I don’t think that we can question their primary motivation.

But, having been placed in a situation where they can exert real power…

and where there is little accountability… 

“Power tends to corrupt”––

as Lord Acton reminds us.

Placed in a situation where they can exert power, latent personality flaws begin to surface.

Striving to change the world…

they really need to begin by changing themselves…

but seldom do––

as Leo Tolstoy reminds us.

 

Ironically…

however…

when it comes to matters of religion…

that all seems to go in reverse.

In effect, everyone thinks of changing themselves…

but no one thinks of changing the world.

When it comes to matters of religion…

our focus is nearly always internalised and individualised.

Religion is about me and God;

my relationship with God;

and, ideally, God helping me to be a better version of myself…

together with ensuring my eternal destiny.

And seldom does that have any real bearing on the way that we engage with the world…

except where “the world” impinges upon the exercise of our individual freedom and morality.

Thus, we have the Australian Christian Lobby jumping up and down…

frothing at the mouth…

and going blue in the face…

because the country voted to allow marriage between people of the same gender…

and now the parliament won’t pass laws…

to enshrine their right to persecute people based on their sexuality;

and because they want to try and stop the enactment of voluntary assisted dying laws.

But what you’ll never hear come from the likes of the Australian Christian Lobby…

is any statement about: 

Refugees and Asylum Seekers;

or injustice towards Aboriginal peoples and institutional racism;

or income inequality, the widening social gap, and structures that maintain poverty;

or worldwide vaccine access inequality.

For too many people of faith…

there is no direct intersection between their faith and what happens in the world…

or in their politics…

outside of the sphere of their own personal freedom and morality––

very narrowly defined.

 

All of which stands in stark contrast to the figure of John the Baptist.

 

Yet, even there, the story––

as it’s so often told or envisaged––

is reduced to a very individualised, me-and-God sort of thing.

We’re told––

or we imagine––

that people…

as individuals engaged in a personal, spiritual quest…

came to John to be baptised in order to make a fresh start…

because they wanted to be better people.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

Certainly not in Luke’s Gospel!

Prior to our reading this morning has been all of the infancy stories…

and…

in particular…

Zechariah’s and Mary’s hymns…

anticipating God lifting up the lowly…

and bringing down the rulers and leaders who enact injustice.

Then our reading begins with a long list of the powers-that-be…

in respect to first-century Palestine…

including the religious powers-that-be––

the very sort that the author has been railing against.

And…

juxtaposed to them we have John––

wandering about in the wilderness…

and proclaiming “the word of God”.

So, from the outset, his whole ministry is to be seen against that background…

and in that context.

John begins by proclaiming One who is coming;

who will bring “the salvation of God”. 

Again, that’s something that we have individualised and internalised.

But, within the first century––

and especially within the Lukan author’s own theology—

it was primarily a political term.

John was proclaiming an alternative saviour––

someone with a different vision for the world than these other “saviours”.

The call to repentance and baptism was a response to his coming…

as a means of identifying with the social, political, and religious change that he was bringing.

And, in John’s preaching––

according to this author––

he didn’t hold back.

He called them…

literally…

“progeny of vipers”––

in direct contrast to their claim to be “children of Abraham”.

Even in that, he’s undermining that whole individualised, internalised approach to religion.

True religion––

the appropriate response to the coming Saviour––

is “to bear fruits worthy of repentance”.

And while these aren’t outlined in our reading––

they come in the next few verses––

and there’s no doubt what the point is.

John tells those who have excess clothing to give to those who lack.

Now, that’s not just an act of charity.

It’s actually a political act.

The rich and powerful used their wealth and power to create dependence.

They gave hand-outs when times were tough…

charging exorbitant interest…

and sending people into debt-bondage.

But if ordinary people helped each other out…

and stopped that sort of exploitation…

then the system would begin to change.

Their world would begin to change.

John also tells tax collectors and soldiers not to exploit or abuse…

and simply take what they are owed.

Again…

this isn’t just an issue of personal morality…

it’s a direct challenge to the socio-economic and socio-political ideologies…

and structures… 

of their world.

But, as the author of Luke’s Gospel makes clear…

that is what John expected;

that is what John claimed was needed…

in order to prepare for the coming of Jesus.

 

As we travel further in our Advent journey;

as we pause to reflect…

and prepare for our celebration of Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ…

we’re reminded that we cannot properly prepare for that…

if we aren’t working actively to change the structures of our world;

if we aren’t working actively to help all of humanity…

experience the social, economic, and political liberation…

that God intends for us all.

That’s how we properly prepare for the coming of Christ.