Second Sunday of Advent
December 10, 2023
Mark 1:1-8

About twenty years ago, social researchers discovered something interesting going on in American bowling alleys. Bowling was becoming more and more popular. More Americans were bowling than had ever bowled before. From the late 80s into the early 90s, the total number of bowlers in America grew noticeably. Personally, I think the game is a little silly; but then again I play golf. The pot calls the kettle black. 

But, researchers found, though the number of people who went bowling was growing, there were fewer Americans who participated in bowling leagues. The title of book about this is, “Bowling Alone.” This presented a problem for America’s bowling alleys. Turns out, when you bowl alone, you don’t buy as much beer and pizza as you do when you bowl in a league. And bowling alleys make their money by selling beer and pizza, not by renting balls and those terrible velcro shoes.

The second problem, and the real gist of the research, is that the rise of solo bowling is indicative of America’s social fabric. The fact that we don’t bowl in leagues is not a big deal; but we’re also voting less, we’re in fewer civic organizations, we’re less involved in our communities. Membership in all manner of clubs, organizations, groups is on the decline. Not just bowling leagues, but Rotary, Kiwanis, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and churches. Now, this does not mean that people aren’t doing charity work, like they would in Rotary and Kiwanis. It doesn’t mean that they’re not going for hikes, like they would in Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts. It doesn’t mean that they don’t believe in God, because Americans still, by and large, do believe in God. It’s just that we’re all doing it alone. It’s not a matter of bowling, charity, hiking, or God; it’s a matter of social cohesion. It’s about community. It’s about doing things together. 

And yes, this helps us understand John the Baptist and the Gospel of Mark. Some background – in the ancient world, it was customary for Jewish people to cleanse themselves. After coming in contact with some sort of uncleanness, say after touching a dead body, ancient Jews would wash themselves with water; it was like baptism. And baptism is not really a religious word. The word baptism just means “immersion in water.” So this ancient Jewish ritual, it wasn’t so much about physical health as it was about ritual purity. And this was not like Christian baptism today, one and done. Ancient Jews would wash themselves repeatedly, over and over again during the course of their lives whenever they needed that cleansing. It’s really not that different from what we do in the privacy of our own bathrooms.

But John the Baptist comes along, who is a Jew, and he puts a new spin on it. The line from the Bible reading today says, “And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” You may not have even noticed it. People were baptized by John in the river Jordan. This is not just a personal ritual. This is not something you do by yourself. This is a revolution. John transform baptism from being a private ceremony to a public act. John is taking the ancient Jewish rite of personal purification and transforming it into a bathing in the Holy Spirit with other people around. In other words, no more bowling alone. 

You see it, right? John’s baptism is about social cohesion, it’s about community. It’s about being part of something bigger than ourselves. We can’t do this alone. If we want to be part of this movement, if we want to hang with John the Baptist, if we want to follow Jesus, we cannot do it ourselves. There is no bowling alone in Christianity. 

We continue this tradition that John started. You cannot baptize yourself, someone has to do it for you. Even I, as a priest, cannot come in here and have communion by myself. That’s not a thing. When we confess our sins in church on Sunday, we all say it together. We sing together. We pray together. We share the Peace. We cannot do it alone. We have to do this together. Christianity is community.

And I’m not just talking about religious and spiritual things. In the church, when someone is having a baby, we throw a baby shower. When someone passes away, we send flowers and chicken salad. I see it all the time. Someone needs a ride to church, and you pick them up. Someone needs help getting up the steps, you offer your arm. You receive communion from someone else. We can all read, but still, someone else reads the Bible to us. If someone doesn’t show up a few Sundays in a row, you call them. And one of the real gifts of church is that we are one of the last intergenerational communities in western culture. A place where we can learn from each other across the generations. Look, if you need advice on what it’s like raising children, ask someone at church who’s already done it. And if you’re having trouble working your iPhone, come to church and find some kid. This is what we have to offer each other and the world. We don’t ask that people become members of the church because it’s good for the institution; no, we want people to members of the church because it’s good for them. Because it provides a real point of social cohesion. Sure, it’s an arcane theological point; we cannot baptize ourselves. But that means everything for us. There is no bowling alone in Christianity.

This is my pitch to everyone who is on the periphery of the church. By getting more involved, by plugging in more and more, it’s good for us and it’s good for you. This also means for those of who are plugged in, you’ve got to be on the lookout for folks on the periphery and intentionally invite them to move in closer. Show them the real and tangible benefits that being part of a church offers. Our job is not to get them to believe in God. Most people do believe in God. Our job is to show them how much better life is when we live it together in Christian community.

It’s not so much that bowling alleys need to convince people to go bowling, they already like to go bowling. It’s that bowling is better in a league. People are happier, they’re more connected, they have fun together. And, the bowling alley does better by selling more pizza and beer.

Life with Jesus is better together. We are more connected, we grow together, we learn from each other. We depend on each other and and we help each other. John the Baptist taught us this. We cannot do it alone.

And one last thing. It’s not so much that we know and are known by each other, it’s not so much that we do church in community. No. It’s that God already knows us and loves. And sure, you can think that thought in your head alone. You can even have your own private prayers, which I would expect you do. But the good news, as hard as it may be, is that the Christian life takes other people. We learn what it is like to be loved by God, by receiving love from each other. And we learn what it is like to love like God, by loving each other. There is no bowling alone. There is no baptizing yourself. There is no church of yourself. There is only a church for everyone.

References

 “Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated : The Collapse and Revival of American Community.” Accessed December 7, 2023. https://viewer.ebscohost.com/EbscoViewerService/ebook?an=1964338&callbackUrl=https%3a%2f%2fresearch.ebsco.com&db=nlebk&format=EK&profId=eds&lpid=&ppid=&lang=en&location=https%3a%2f%2fresearch.ebsco.com%2fc%2fqayz6d%2fresults%3fq%3dbowling%2520alone%26limiters%3dFT1%253AY%252CFT%253AY&isPLink=False&requestContext=&profileIdentifier=qayz6d&recordId=2dfre4cvb5.

 “Robert Putnam – Bowling Alone – Journal of Democracy 6:1.” Accessed December 7, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20100201190211/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/DETOC/assoc/bowling.html.