Advent 3

Coffee.

It’s an incredibly valuable commodity — second only to oil. Americans drink 2.7 billion pounds of the stuff a year, more than any other country. And it’s very possible that you are responsible for about half of this consumption. Or not.

Anyway, talk about a serious caffeine addiction.

Back in 2007, a federation of coffee growers in Colombia thought long and hard about what to do with Juan Valdez, the cultivador de cafe. You have surely seen Juan on television — he’s the fictional coffee grower who has been featured in ads for decades now, helping to establish “100 percent Colombian coffee” as an international brand.

The problem was that Juan was getting old. It become a bit of a joke when one ad showed him surfing with his faithful mule, Conchita. Silly stuff. The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia got very close to sending him off to the old folks’ home for advertising icons.

Then a consultant from Portland, Oregon, advised them to hold on to Juan. “Juan Valdez taps into a fundamental human truth,” said the consultant — “the things we savor the most are the hardest earned.” Maybe Juan still had value, as someone who is dedicated to the hard work of raising coffee by hand.

So the federation of coffee growers decided to introduce a new, younger Juan, instead of retiring him. They learned that people emotionally connect with Juan because he seems authentic, and authenticity is a priceless quality.

It’s important to be authentic. Even if you’re a fictional coffee grower.

Of course, coffee federations are not alone in seeing the appeal of authenticity. Companies everywhere are sensing that consumers gravitate toward brands that appear to be true and genuine. Starbucks is popular because it imitates authentic Italian espresso bars. BMWs Mini taps into people’s natural desire for joy and freedom on the road. Organic foods are flying off the shelves because consumers sense that they are connected to farming practices that are healthy and good.

So authenticity is hot. But how do you tell the difference between what is “real” and what is “fake”? How do you differentiate between a true espresso bar and a Starbucks?

The authenticity question is the issue John the Baptist raises while locked up in prison for offending King Herod. John sent his disciples to Jesus, and they asked him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (Matthew 11:3). John needed to know if Jesus was a real messiah, or a fake  messiah.

Remember that there were lots of false messiahs running around the region, claiming to be God’s one and only. A man named Judas of Galilee led a bloody revolt against a Roman census in the year 6AD. Simon was a slave of Herod who became a messianic figure when he rebelled in the year 4. Theudas attempted a revolt against the Romans in the 40s and was killed.

There was no shortage of fake messiahs claiming to be authentic, which is why John asked, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

The answer Jesus gives is fascinating. He doesn’t say “yes” or “no,” but instead suggests that they look around and make up their own minds. “Go and tell John what you hear and see,” says Jesus: “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” (vv. 4-6).

Look at what I am doing, Jesus suggests — then decide for yourself whether I am the real Messiah. This is like the coffee federation saying, “Don’t listen to Juan Valdez. Just drink the coffee.” Or a car company saying, “Ignore our ads. Just drive the car.” Authenticity is to be found in actions, not words — but rarely are people completely confident in the performance of their product.

Fortunately, Jesus wasn’t struggling with the “actions-matching-words” problem. The blind were receiving their sight, the lame were walking, the lepers were being cleansed, the deaf were regaining their hearing, and the dead were being raised.

Look at what Jesus is doing here, not at what he is saying. He’s not just talking the talk; he’s walking the walk. His actions are proving that he’s real, not fake.

Jesus then gives credit to John the Baptist for his own authenticity. “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?” he asks the crowd. “Someone dressed in soft robes?” Jesus is mocking those who hiked into the wilderness to hear the preaching of John the Baptist, only to be offended by his clothing of camel’s hair, his leather belt and his 100-percent-organic-locust-and-wild-honey diet. “Look,” says Jesus, “those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces” (Matthew 11:7-8).

John is a prophet, not a royal palace advisor. Furthermore, John is more than a prophet, insists Jesus — he is “the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you’” (v. 10).

John is the messenger foretold by the Old Testament’s Malachi, the one who will prepare the way for the Authentic Messiah. John is not a royal yes-man in soft robes, but is “like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi” (Malachi 3:1-3). John accomplishes this mission by calling people to repentance and baptizing them to cleanse them of their sins.

So Jesus is not the only really real person in today’s Gospel. John the Baptist is authentic as well — he is the Authentic Messenger.

But notice the surprising comment that Jesus makes next. “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11). John is great, but those who follow him will be even greater. Jesus predicts that he will have some Authentic Disciples who will surpass even John the Baptist in their faithfulness and effectiveness.

So what does it take to be an Authentic Disciple of an Authentic Messiah?

According to Fast Company, a business magazine, authenticity comes from a sense of place, a larger purpose, a strong point of view, and integrity.

First, a sense of place. If you want to drink authentic champagne, then you have to open a bottle from the Champagne region of France. Anything else is just sparkling wine. If you want to be an Authentic Disciple of Jesus, you have to know the story of Bethlehem and Nazareth, Judea and Galilee. Jesus the Messiah did his work in a particular place, and unless we know the story of that place, we cannot be his true followers.

Second, authenticity demands a larger purpose. Whole Foods Market is the world’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods, and part of its popularity comes from the sense that its profit-making is a by-product of a larger purpose — to “change the way the world eats.” If you want to be an Authentic Disciple, you have to look beyond your own interests and focus on the interests of Jesus. “Those who want to save their life will lose it,” says Jesus to his disciples, “and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (16:25).

Third, authenticity requires a strong point of view. When Billy Graham’s library in Montreat, North Carolina, was dedicated, there were three ex-presidents in attendance. Now if there’s any world where authenticity is a serious issue, it’s the world of evangelists and televangelists. Yet, the American public trusted and admired Billy Graham. Part of that admiration was due to his simple, but strong point of view: Jesus saves.

Likewise, if we want to be Authentic Disciples, we will align ourselves unequivocally with Jesus and his distinctive way of life. “Let your light shine before others,” says Jesus to his followers, “so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (5:16).

And fourth, authenticity involves integrity. There has to be a match between words and actions. If you want to be an Authentic Disciple, you are challenged to create a match between your talk and your walk.

A fellow was once accosted by a street corner evangelist, who asked him, “Are you a Christian?” He replied, “Why are you asking me? I could tell you anything. Ask my family. Talk with my neighbors. Speak to the people with whom I work. They can tell you whether or not I am a Christian.”

What would your family, your neighbors, your co-workers say if they were asked if you are an authentic Christian?