Readings for Advent III

 

Psalmody:  The Magnificat – Luke 1:46-55

Isaiah 61:1-3, 10-11     1 Thessalnians 5:16-24      John 1:6-8, 19-28

 

            Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.  [Psalm 19:14, adapted]

 

            The office of the Press Secretary to the United States is an interesting one.  He comes out into the crowd of reporters.  They have been sent to “get the scoop” and report back.  Something is amiss and they are intent on getting the entire story.  The press secretary’s report is rather sterile – initial information – usually not too much of substance.  Then the questions fly, “Is it this?” or “Is it that?”  The reporters keep poking and prodding, imagining what the real story is, projecting what so many suspect.  They want to hear more, and many times try to lead get an answer based only on what they want to hear.  But the secretary remains true to the message he has been given and, after an appropriate amount of time, retreats back behind the doors that protect the president and his staff from the eager press corps.

 

            As we read today’s Gospel, John the Baptist is in a similar position.  God sent John to point to Jesus, which he does.  John had been out in the wilderness, gathering quite a crowd of followers.  He evidently knew something the leaders in Jerusalem did not know and they were bound to find out.  The Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. They had their pre-conceived ideas too and wanted this matter settled.  But John answers only with words that God has given him.

 

            God sent John with a purpose.  No one preaches without being sent by God.  “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  [1 Corinthians 12:3]  It is God’s one and only intent to point to Jesus so that people stop what they are doing, see him, and listen to him in order to believe on him for eternal life.  John was very clear that he was not the Christ, not Elijah, not “the” prophet like Moses that the Jewish people were expecting.  John answered by quoting the prophet Isaiah, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert.  Make straight the way of the Lord.”

 

            The questioning continues about John’s baptizing.  John again diverts the attention away from himself and points to one yet to come.  John explains that the one they are looking for is “among you.”  [v. 26]  This had to be frustrating to the Pharisees to be told that the one they were looking for was among them, yet they could not recognize him. 

 

            John keeps pointing away from himself and pointing to Jesus.  John keeps from saying what “he thinks” but quotes God’s words from the prophets and the message God sent him to give, pointing only to Jesus.  John is a faithful messenger, speaking only what God has given him to say.  John does not bend or waiver or give in to what the people wanted to hear.

 

            Paul writes to Timothy about that same predicament, warning not to preach what “itching ears want to hear,” and how people “will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”  John the Baptist faced that problem.  The prophets of the Old Testament faced that problem.  We face that problem today both in American society and culture and throughout the world.  Knowing that, we know that the purpose of the church today is to preach Jesus and Jesus alone.  It is not always easy.  Christians, Christian churches and entire denominations are put on the hot seat with the world demanding answers to suit worldly ears.  Satan would love to re-write Scripture so that no one would know the truth about Jesus.  How many times do you get caught up in those delightful conversations that “all religions are alike and it doesn’t matter what you believe?”  How many times do you find yourself troubled that the person next to you does not know salvation because he/she does not know that heaven comes only through Jesus alone?

 

            Scripture is a pointed message.  God’s law cuts to hearts in a tough message that yes, all are sinners and do not deserve his love.  God’s law cuts through human pride that wants to be able to save itself by its own knowledge, wisdom, and works.  God’s truth breaks down this pride and self-reliance and causes people to look to him for his deliverance from their helpless condition.  God’s love shows the world the truth, way and life given only in Jesus.  God’s word is a pointed message, pointing only to Jesus as the author and perfecter of faith.  [Hebrews 12:2] 

 

            You and I are the church and are called to proclaim this pointed message to others.  So many times we respond to questions about Immanuel telling how friendly and supportive the members are, whether we like the pastor or not, the activities we have, the school, and other things that always point to us.  We get all wrapped up in the “things” that it takes to operate the church and its programs and different “means” of making enough to pay the bills.  We get wrapped up in “us.”  We forget that we are here for a pointed message, a message pointed away from us and pointed to Jesus.  We often forget the example John the Baptist set, forgetting self and directing the message to the Savior.  The first part of the message is important, the friendliness, the compassion, and the activity.  But it must be coupled with the main point of our existence, Jesus Christ crucified for our sins and eternal life.

 

            The most prominent symbol outside and inside this church is the cross.  It projects high atop the bell tower and is subtly displayed in the outside brick-work facing Lee Street.  It marks each and every pew in this room and sits atop the baptismal font.  It is displayed above the main entrance to Immanuel’s school.  It is the central symbol in the chancel area high above the altar.  We face our Lord on this cross as it enters among us in opening hymns and we follow it as it leads us out of our comfortable pews back into an uncomfortable world.  The cross points to Jesus, God’s one and only Son sent not to condemn the world but to save the world through him.  [John 3:17]

 

 

            As John the Baptist pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world [John 1:29], you and I too are called by God to point to Jesus in our lives.  “How can I do that?” we all ask.  The apostle Paul gives us direction and encouragement telling us to rejoice in all things, pray continually, and to give thanks to God in all circumstances, and not to put out the Spirit’s fire.  [1 Thessalonians 5:16-19]  By your actions and outlook in life you point to Jesus as you:

• give God the glory for all that is good,
• cry out to him for his mercy in your troubles,
• thank him for the blessings you receive, and
• let the Holy Spirit work in peoples’ hearts as you share the love of Christ with them, pointing to Jesus as God’s way of salvation. 

 

It is almost Christmas.  The world is full of decorations and “holiday” messages.  The stores beckon to us with displays and sales prompting many to believe that this gift or that is the “perfect” gift for your loved one or neighbor.  Many movies, television and radio productions, and news articles focus on lots of nice things in this world that people do at Christmas time.  There are a lot of signs out there, aren’t there?

 

On the front lawn of Immanuel is a very pointed sign.  There is a virgin who bore a son and an adoptive father who gave him the name “Jesus” because he came to save his people from their sins.  [Matthew 1:21]  There is the simple manger to show that God put aside all of his glory to work salvation for his people.  There are angels, special messengers God sent whose first words are, “Do not be afraid.”  There are shepherds and wise men who followed the signs and words God gave them that led them to the Savior.  God’s signs and words lead you and me and all others who follow them to that same Savior.                    Amen.