The scriptures referred to are Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72, and Matthew 3:1-12.
I originally started this sermon relating how I went to Wendy's and found that the voice on the speaker was Artificial Intelligence rather than a real person. But that almost completed sermon was completely erased by my computer and replaced by 7 pages of hashtags, even though I had clicked on the Save icon. Which illustrates the point I was making. As someone said, to err is human; to really screw things up takes a computer.
Despite what the tech bros say, A.I. is not going to be our savior, partly because there is not now, and several experts think there will never be, what they call General Artificial Intelligence. Computer programs can do certain specific tasks better and faster than humans but they cannot do things like use common sense, or rely on lived experience, or understand how other people think, or have a sense of humor or doubt themselves. Because they don't actually think. They scan what others have done and then do a summary or make something similar, like make a picture in a particular style.
Yet the tech bros think they can replace any human activity with A.I. A lot of the stuff you read, hear and see on the internet is computer generated. In Germany and Japan they are working on making robot nurses. In Kyoto, Japan they have a cute anime-style Buddhist robot/priest who preaches sermons. In 2017 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, an exhibition in Wittenberg, Germany created a clunky robot that gave blessings in 5 languages and would even print them out. Neither of these are a substitute for a person. They can't listen or empathize or speak from experience.
The problem is that not only can't we duplicate what God has created, we are flawed and biased and so our flaws and biases end up in whatever we create. Elon Musk tweaked his A.I. Grok to only say complementary things about him. When people on his platform X (formerly Twitter) found out, they asked questions about how he compared to other people. It said he was better than any person in any field of endeavor, even athletes like Le Bron or Simone Biles. Grok even said that Musk was a better role model than Jesus and better at resurrection in that he could rise from the dead faster! I'd pay to see that.
A.I. is just the latest attempt by humanity to create a better world without resorting to God, or as N.T. Wright puts it, to get the fruits without the roots. At least the people who were flocking to John the Baptist knew what to look for. His message, as we read in today's gospel, is “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Nor was he talking about the afterlife. Matthew's gospel appears to have been written to Jewish believers and to keep from offending them by overusing God's name, he said “kingdom of heaven” instead of “kingdom of God” as all the other gospels do. And Jesus' own message echoes John's. Jesus said, “The time has come and the kingdom of God is near. Repent, and believe the good news.” (Mark 1:15)
Unfortunately, the people then, like some people today, were thinking of a kingdom like any other, only holy. They were thinking of a kingdom with boundaries and a political system. Their idea of a Messiah was a holy warrior king like David who would defeat the Romans and expel them. The problem is they didn't even learn from their own history. David's kingdom split up after his son Solomon died. The northern kingdom of Israel was run by bad kings until it was conquered by the Assyrians and the people were taken into exile in 722 BC. The southern kingdom of Judah survived under kings descended from David, some good and some bad. That kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians and they went into exile in 586 BC. They were allowed to come back 70 years later under the Persians and then the Greeks. They became independent for about 100 years and then came under Roman rule. All earthly kingdoms, empires and nations rise and fall.
Earthly kingdoms take up specific areas of land and offer earthly resources and power. So earthly rulers want to keep what they have and gain more if they can. The people living on the land are only relevant as a workforce and taxpayers. There are leaders who would gladly rule over a land of robots. They would be less troublesome.
Jesus famously told Pilate that his kingdom did not come from this world. For one thing, his followers weren't warriors, fighting for Jesus. (John 18:36) What earthly kingdom doesn't have a military? And in what sense can that be a kingdom?
In both Greek and Hebrew the word usually translated “kingdom” meant first of all the authority to rule as king and secondly a realm over which he ruled. A better translation might be the royal reign of God. That makes the specific patch of land almost irrelevant. After all, as the psalmist says, “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1) So God reigns everywhere. But like the tenants in one of Jesus' parables a lot of its inhabitants don't acknowledge that. (Matthew 21:33-44) They think they can run the world without the need of God.
16 of the 40 recorded parables of Jesus are about the kingdom of God. (Matthew 13:3-52; 18:23-34; 20:1-16; 21:28-44; 22:2-14; 25:1-30; Mark 4:26-29) Each gives us a glimpse of some aspect of the kingdom. Using everyday examples from a world in which 90% of the people were subsistence farmers, Jesus compares it to the sowing of seed on various soils, to a field where weeds and wheat grow up together, to a tiny seed that grows into a huge shrub, and to something that grows gradually almost without you noticing it. No doubt drawing upon his experience making things for people of various classes and professions, he compares it to workers in a vineyard, to a fishing net, to cooking with yeast, and to a wedding banquet, a joyful event to which everyone in a village is invited.
But the fullest examination of the kingdom of God is the Sermon on the Mount. God's kingdom is one where its citizens realize how impoverished they are without God, where those who mourn find comfort and courage, where the world is given to the gentle, where those who hunger and thirst for the right relationship with God are satisfied, where mercy is rewarded in kind, where hearts are purified by the vision of God, where God adopts those who make peace, and where loyalty to God is rewarded despite how badly it is treated by others. Those who let God reign in their lives preserve the world like salt and their deeds shine like a beacon in a dark world. They obey God in the smallest thing. They do not harm others either physically or with angry words. They understand that it is not enough to love God without also loving their neighbors. They know not to sin with their actions or with their intentional thoughts. They are willing to cut out things that they used to think of as a part of themselves if they are coming between them and God. They keep their promises, say what they mean and mean what they say. They don't retaliate. They go the extra mile. They are generous to those in need. They love all who are created in God's image, including their enemies. They strive to be completely good just as God is. (Matthew 5)
Those who obey God as their king do not make a performance out of their piety. When they pray, they acknowledge God's holiness. They ask for his kingdom to become a reality in this life and that his will be done here as it is in heaven. They ask for their daily needs and ask that he forgive their failures to do what is right to the same extent that they forgive others for their failures to do right by them. They ask not to undergo times of testing and for protection from the evil one. They keep their sacrifices to themselves and do not try to amass treasures that don't last but seek treasures that last beyond this life. They keep their eyes open to what is good and don't let their perspective become warped or dark. They realize that they cannot serve both God and money and so trust God for what they require and don't let tomorrow's anxieties take their mind off of the priorities of God's kingdom. (Matthew 6)
Those who take God's royal authority seriously don't usurp it by passing verdicts on other people. They take care of their faults before helping with those of others. They value what is sacred and treat it as such. They keep asking and seeking after the good gifts God shares. They treat people well, the same way they would like to be treated. They don't go along with the crowd but realize that the path God wants them to follow will come with difficulties. They are on guard against false prophets, and see what kind of behavior their teachings result in. They know that God isn't impressed by fancy words or flashy feats but by the person who actually obeys God's will. They build their faith on the firm foundation of Jesus' words, knowing they will be able to weather whatever storms come their way. (Matthew 7)
This is why the kingdom of God needs no borders. Wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in his name, Jesus is there and reigns in their midst. (Matthew 18:20; Luke 17:21) We are his ambassadors, obeying him and passing on his message in whatever place we happen to be. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
Part of that message is in what we say and part of it is in what we do. We negate the message when we do the opposite of what we say we should do. But how are we to be completely good in the way our heavenly Father is? We are not perfect. We screw up. But as Jesus said, “What is impossible for mere humans is possible for God.” (Luke 18:27) Which is why when we accept Jesus as our king, he sends his Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, to help us become the people God intended us to be. The Spirit helps us with those things we find so hard to do, like believe (Acts 10:44-48), repent (Psalm 51:10-12), obey (Ezekiel 36:26-27), pray (Romans 8:26-27) and love (Romans 5:5). The Spirit gives us talents and abilities to share with others. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) The Spirit produces moral and spiritual qualities in us. (Galatians 5:22-23) It is the Spirit who allows us to be citizens of the kingdom of God worthy of the name.
People will never be able to create something on their own that transcends their flaws and biases. And we will never be able to make a nation that pleases God simply by taking the reins of power and trying to force people to be godly through following laws. Paul, a zealous Pharisee, realized that the law cannot save us; it can only show us what we are supposed to do. It cannot give us the power to do those things. Only God's Spirit can. (Romans 8:3-14)
In Advent we anticipate Jesus' first coming as one of us, and his second coming as the triumphant king who is returning to set up his kingdom, not just as a spiritual realm but as heaven on earth. Because in Jesus, God and humanity come together. The perfect kingdom that we hope for but cannot achieve on our own will be established forever by the only person who can bring it off. Unlike A.I. Jesus understands us. He knows what it's like to be human, to be misunderstood, to have people say you're wrong when you are right, to have your family not believe you, to be betrayed by a friend, and to have your other friends abandon you when you are facing the worst thing that has ever happened to you. And yet he forgives those who are in the process of executing him and gives Peter 3 opportunities to acknowledge his love after he denied Jesus 3 times. When he comes again, Jesus will judge the world with justice but also with mercy.
So Advent is also a minor penitential season. We examine ourselves and confess our sins and rededicate ourselves to the process of becoming like Jesus. Contrary to what any A.I. says, there is no one who compares with Christ. And if it could truly think, rather than parrot what it is programmed to say, it would admit it.
We are not brainless machines. We have the ability to think. We have common sense. We can have insights. We can make choices. So the question is: why do we resist the obvious? Why do we look for salvation in any other person or system or technology? Jesus is what we are looking for. Accept no substitutes.
