St. John’s Episcopal Church
Tallahassee, FL

1 Kings 12:6-11, 13, 16
2 Kings 22:3-6, 8-11; 23:2-3
John 1:6-8,19-28

This sermon was part of The Year of the Bible—a yearlong initiative in which all sermons, classes, and formation for all ages followed a parish-wide journey through the entire Bible. With the bishop’s permission, we used a custom lectionary: two readings drawn from that week’s section of Scripture, plus a psalm and the regularly appointed gospel of the day.

One of the motifs
you are likely to encounter
during the holy season of Advent
is that of cleaning house.

During Advent
we are inevitably told to get ready—
like bridesmaids waiting for the groom,
like servants waiting for the master.

“Keep awake,” Jesus says,
“for you do not know when
the master of the house will come.”

In other words:
clean house . . .
and keep it clean.

Of course, at this time of year
cleaning house is just part
of what many of us do
with all the Yuletide decorations,
obligations,
and family and friends coming through.

A few years ago,
right about this time of year,
Jay and I received a call
from my beloved Aunt Karene and Uncle Warren—
whom we had not seen in about ten years.

They were coming through town
and wanted to have dinner with us,
and we were overjoyed.

I had just been thinking
how long it had been
and how badly I missed them,
and I burst into tears
when Jay told me they were coming.

Then, after I dabbed my eyes,
I looked at her,
and she looked at me,
and we said to one another:

“Oh no.
We’ve got to clean the house.”

But cleaning house
can mean more—
a whole lot more—
than just tidying up your things.

How many times have we elected politicians,
hired new coaches,
brought in new CEOs
in the hopes that they would “clean house,”
trim the fat,
cut the pork,
drain the swamp?

All of that
is metaphor
for getting ready—
for putting your affairs in order
so you can focus
without distraction
on what matters most.

In the Christian life,
we have a word for that:
repentance.

Most of our readings today
have something to do
with that very idea—
the need to clean house.

In our Year of the Bible,
we’ve reached the point
where Israel is an established nation
being ruled by kings.

But like I told you a couple weeks ago—
human kings are hardly ever up to the task.

Israel’s first king, Saul,
was kind of a mess.
Their second king, David,
started well,
but ended up with all kinds of problems.
Then came his son, Solomon—
and then came Solomon’s son.

Today . . .
today we meet Rehoboam.

And y’all—
this guy is the worst.

Rehoboam takes the throne,
and he asks his father’s advisors
what he should do.

And they say,
“Listen, King,
if you want this to go well,
then be good to the people.
Love them.
Serve them.
Care for them.

“Be kinder than your father Solomon was,
and they will be devoted to you.”

But what does Rehoboam do?

He fires all the old guys,
hires his own young cronies,
and tells the nation:

“There’s a new sheriff in town.

“You thought my dad was tough?

Well guess what—
my little finger
is bigger than my father’s loins.”

(And yes,
that means exactly
what you think it means.)

Like I say:
if it’s family values you are looking for,
be careful when you go looking in the Bible.

He says:
“I am going to work you harder
and demand more from you
than anyone ever has.”

I guess you could say
King Rehoboam was cleaning house . . .
but not in a good way.

It is the beginning
of a long, slow downfall.

The people revolt.
The kingdom splits in two.
And life is never the same again.

Fast forward 500 years.

The kingdom of Judah
has gone bonkers.

In the prophetic words
of one of our own poets:

“That kingdom was bananas.
B-A-N-A-N-A-S.”

They were setting up idols,
worshiping other gods,
turning Solomon’s Temple
into a pleasure palace.

And all of it had gone on so long
that everyone
had completely forgotten about God.

Which is insane—
because these are God’s people.

They are not supposed to forget.

But then—
something happens.

A new king comes to the throne:
Josiah.

And Josiah—
at the ripe old age of 18—
says to his elders:

“Hey y’all—
go clean up that old Temple.
Clean house.
Start in the basement,
then the attic.

“Who knows?
Maybe you’ll find some silver or gold
to help us build up the kingdom again.”

So they go.
They clean house.

But what they find
is not silver or gold.

What they find . . .
is a book.

They come running back to Josiah, saying:

“Your Majesty,
you are not going to believe this—
we found a book.

“And we believe
it is the word of God.”

Y’all—
it had been so long
that they did not even remember
that the Bible existed.

It would be like
if 500 years from now
St. John’s had been turned into a nightclub—
people dancing in here,
the bar over there,
lights flashing everywhere.

It hurts your heart, doesn’t it?

It’s supposed to.

And then imagine
that someone—
just a janitor working the night shift—
goes up into the bell tower
looking for something.

And in some little crag in the bricks
they find a dusty old book.
They blow it off . . .

And it’s the Gospels.

That is what happened.

They bring it to King Josiah.
And what does Josiah do?

He reads it.

He reads it
and repents.

Then he gathers the whole nation,
reads the whole book out loud,
and they repent, too.

Josiah cleaned house.

What began
as a basic cleanup job
became a return to God,
a rebuilding of the nation,
a renewal of the people.

Y’all, this is not just a tale from long ago.
There is truth in it
for you and me, too.

That is why, during Advent,
we always hear from John the Baptist.

Repent!
Prepare!
Get rid of your extra coats,
your extra food,
your extra anything!

Clean house.

Because Jesus is on the way,
and John does not want us to miss him.

Advent is a mighty fine time
to do just that.

It is time
to clean house.

So what do you need
to repent of today?

What’s in the attic of your mind?
The basement of your heart?

What is taking up space
and making you into someone
you are truly not?

A lot of preachers,
when they talk about repentance,
roll out a list of sins
that nobody can keep up with.

But I am talking about something different.

What is cluttering you up?
What is keeping you from discovering
the treasure
that is already inside you?

It probably is not some dastardly sin.
I have met y’all—
you’re nice enough.

It is more likely
those stories you tell yourself.
That stuff you refuse to let go of.

The anxiety.
The perfectionism.
The shame.
The should-haves.
The what-ifs.
The guilt.

That heavy load
we all carry around.

But I am here to tell you—
God does not want that for you.

Most of us are not worried
that we are too bad
for God to love us.

Most of us are just worried
we are not good enough.

The grace for us today is this:

Our Lord Jesus—
that baby in the manger,
that man on the cross,
that Savior outside the empty tomb—

he has already made a decision
about you.

And it is this:

It does not matter
whether you are good enough or not.

He is going to love you anyway.
Always has.
Always will.

So maybe it is time
to clean house.

To let go
of anything that tells you otherwise.

To have a spiritual garage sale
and make room
for the treasure already inside you.

I mentioned my Aunt Karene and Uncle Warren.

Well, they did come to visit that year.

And we sat and laughed
for hours
as they told us about their adventures.

Turns out—
they had sold their dream house.

A log cabin they had built with their own hands
in the mountains of North Carolina.

They sold it.
They gave away everything.

Their kids came and claimed
their favorite memories.

And the rest,
they gave to others.

Then they bought an RV
and decided to live out their golden years
park to park,
coast to coast,
having the time of their lives.

Some in the family thought
they had lost their minds.

But you know what?

They cleaned house.
They let go.
And I am here to tell you—
the looks on their faces
looked a whole lot like freedom.

So whether you are Aunt Karene or Uncle Warren,
or King Josiah,
or John the Baptist,
or just lovely, lovable,
wonderfully imperfect you . . .

God is offering you something good today.

A clean slate.
A fresh start.
A new life.

My friends,
it is time to clean house.

To make room
for the treasure
already inside you.

In other words,
as that old prophet John used to say:

Repent.
For the Lord is near.

Amen.