John
1:6-8, 19-28
A voice cries out in the wilderness!
We’ve heard these words before.
Recently, in fact. They came to us both from the gospel of Mark, and from the
prophet Isaiah in Advent II. “A voice cries out in the wilderness!” And now
again, we hear these words today, this time from the gospel of John where the testimony of John the Baptist, who came
to prepare the way of Jesus, is recounted.
As we read this text on this Third
Sunday of Advent, we are reminded that now
is the time to Prepare! To prepare our hearts and minds for the advent of Jesus
Christ – for the coming of Christ among us, even as we are reminded of the
paradox that while we are preparing, the
Lord is indeed already with us, working through the Holy Spirit, changing
hearts and minds, and helping us to prepare. And part of our preparation is telling the story of Love that changed
the world.
Listen again to these words from
today’s gospel text. In fact, I would appreciate it if you would help me out
here. Fill in the blanks in the following message. (If you need to cheat a
little, that’s okay – you’ll find the answers written in the gospel lesson, in your
worship bulletin):
“There
was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a
witness
to testify
to the light, so that all might believe through him. He
himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the
light.”
A witness testifies to what they know
as truth. And in our gospel accounts,
that is exactly who John is, and what John does. John, in fact is an important
witness and in today’s account, you could say that he is the star witness. But John does not witness
alone. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are all
continually invited to share in the work of witnessing.
As the star witness, John gave testimony for the world to hear about this
light, Jesus Christ, who was coming into the world; John meant for all people to hear and to believe that this light was the light
which would dispel all darkness, and give
life to those languishing ones. Once again, that is what witnesses do. They
tell a story. They want their listeners to understand their story, to believe it. They hope that their story
will help guide and perhaps even determine the outcome of events that are
playing out. John gives his testimony in the hope that he might help determine
the trajectory of hearts transformed by God as they are claimed by Jesus
Christ.
Have you ever served on a jury? I have.
I have to admit that I found the process of the legal system at work to be
fascinating. Once the testimony began it was especially interesting listening
to witnesses, presumably testifying to the truth as they knew it. Witnesses speak
from their experience. Witnesses keep their answers direct and to the point. If
not, they are stopped – and redirected. An important part of good testimony –
is that you don’t confuse the central issue with a lot of extraneous “facts” or
details. A good witness is almost invisible. The testimony is not and should
not be, in most cases about them. It is the event or the person they are
witnessing about that is crucial.
Today’s gospel text reads like a testimony
given in a courtroom; a testimony given in response to an interrogation of
sorts. It has a lot in common with the kind of testimony I heard in court.
Extraneous facts and confusing details are not welcome. The gospel writer wants
to make sure that the central part of
the story is about Jesus. In the verses just before these, he has already laid out
the central facts: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into
being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come
into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” Jesus is that light.
Then, the action in the gospel turns
to John, this messenger who points to Jesus as the light.
The Pharisees in Jerusalem have sent
the priests and Levites from Jerusalem out into the countryside to question
John. Word has reached Jerusalem that he has been causing a bit of a stir. He
has been testifying that a “light” has come into the world. There may have been
some confusion, as there often is in stories that are transmitted word-of-mouth.
What they are concerned about, is who this John is. They wonder if he is the
one or if he is claiming to be the long-expected anointed one who is to come
set the world to straights. Or, is he claiming to be Elijah, also a figure they
have been expecting to return. They wonder if he is a prophet, sent to them
with another of the kind of messages that prophets usually deliver. It is quite
possible that all of these are versions of the stories the Pharisees have heard
filter through to them in Jerusalem. So, who exactly is John and what is he saying?
Should they be concerned?
We don’t know exactly what John has
been saying to attract so many to come to him; we don’t know exactly what has
stirred the interest of the temple elite. I mean, it’s like he’s been holding
Black Friday sales without a license, he hasn’t been decorating shrubs out
there in the Judean countryside, creating a fire hazard in the arid olive
groves with the flames of all those brightly lit candles. But we do know that people have been coming, have been
listening, and have been embracing
this word of hope and expectation central to his witness, and many have been
baptized. All of this has attracted the attention, and perhaps suspicions, of
the Jerusalem officials.
So they send emissaries to come to see
him.
“Who
are you, John?” they want to know.
Instead
of telling them who he is, he tells them who he is not.
“I’m
not the Messiah, the Christ,” he
tells them.
“What
then, are you Elijah?”
“I
am not,” John tells them. Like a courtroom
witness, he goes no further – this is not really about him. This is about the
one who is coming after him; this is about the one whose sandals he is not
worthy to untie.
“Are
you the Prophet?” they ask.
“Nope,”
John answers them. “Not even the prophet.”
“Well,
then, who in the world are you?” the
interrogators demand.
“Why are you here? What are you doing?” They plead for an answer – after all, there
are those they need to answer to. I
think if I was John, at this point, I would have said, “You are asking the
wrong questions. It is not me you
should be asking about. It is the light you need to hear.”
John isn’t there to talk about himself.
He is there to point to another, to point to the one the prophets did foretell, to introduce the one the
Scriptures spoke about, to witness to the fact that this light that is coming into the world is the light of one who is larger, more important than he, is in
fact a game-changing light for the world. He is there to witness to the Lamb of
God who embodies God’s mercy, who takes away the sins of the world. He is there
to give testimony to the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with
fire – who will transform a broken, dark, lonely, chaotic world, and will love
it to pieces.
All of our scriptures today point to
the great light and hope that comes to us through the incarnation of God among
us, Jesus the Christ. This Sunday, we can feel the excitement building. We see
the anticipation of Christmas all around—crowded stores, too many cars on the
road, long lines at the post office…and, yet, many who partake in this
excitement and anticipation do not know the true story and value of Christmas.
Many in our community have never had a good witness to testify to them about
the light…or, they have, but it was a long, long time ago. Some of us even here
in this room have perhaps forgotten about the Light changes the world – for the
better.
For many, even sometimes, for us, Christmas
is about the department store and online sales. For many, you know it’s
Christmastime when the lights go up, inside and out, powered by batteries and
cords. It’s easy to forget that Advent is not about the countdown to unwrapping
all those beautifully prepared gifts and downing the special foods and drinks
you only really share at this time of year. Traditions like those may help us celebrate,
but they are not what this season is
about. You know it, and I know it.
What this season is about, is a love
so strong that the powers of evil a
Like John, each
of us has a story to tell, a testimony to give. Each of us have an experience
with Jesus to share, testimony that our world desperately needs to hear. John
gives us the perfect introduction to the story…”
We can fill in those first few
sentences from today’s gospel, replacing our own gender and name in the
appropriate places.
“There was a man, woman sent from God, whose name is your name. He/She came as
a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through her, him. She/He
herself/himself was not the light, but he/she
came to testify to the light.”
Brothers
and Sisters in Christ, may we be blessed as we preach it!
Amen.
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