December 7th,
2014 “Preparing the
Way” Rev. Heather Jepsen
John 1:6-8, 19-28
As you know it is the season of Advent
here in the church. This is a time of
watching and waiting, a time of preparing our hearts for our coming Lord. And we certainly cannot do that without the
hero of Advent; John, known so well as the Baptist. And so this week our readings turn to him.
John is one of the most interesting
characters of the gospels and many of the gospel writers don’t seem to know
what to do with him. Is he greater than
Jesus because he baptizes him, or is he less than? Does Jesus come from within his movement, or
does he start his own? Do the followers
of John become the followers of Jesus, or is it the other way around? The biblical authors can’t even agree on a
name for this guy. In Matthew he is
“John the Baptist”, in Mark “John the baptizer”, in Luke “John the son of
Zechariah”, and in today’s reading from the gospel of John he is just plain old
“John.”
Even in the story that is told, no one
seems to know who he is. In the reading
for today, priests from the temple in Jerusalem have headed out into the
wilderness specifically to ask that question, “Who are you?” The answer John gives is very nebulous. At first he refuses to claim any
identity. All he offers those who ask is
a series of “nots”; not the Messiah, not Elijah, and not one of the prophets. When pushed, John refuses to make claims in
his own words; rather he paraphrases Isaiah “I am the voice of one crying out
in the wilderness. ‘Make straight the
way of the Lord.’”
I like this plain old “John” from the
gospel of John because he is so shrouded in mystery. His whole story is placed smack in the middle
of the great cosmic opening of this gospel.
Like directing a film, we start from way back with the greatest wide
angle distance shot ever: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.” There is
some wonderful language about dark and light, and in just a few short verses
the camera zooms way in. It zooms so far
in that we can see the details of one man’s face, the scruffy beard hairs and the
wrinkles around his eyes. “There was a
man sent from God whose name was John.”
From the vast expanses of a world before time to the sudden detail of
the life of one man, John is the focal point of this gospel.
I really enjoy the interplay
throughout this gospel between the cosmic and the everyday, the infinite and
the incarnate, the forever of God’s time and space and the true experience of
our here and now. John is the man who
stands in the gap between these two things, John is the connector. As the gospel writer says “John came as a
witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.” It is through John that we can see, it is
through John that we come to know Jesus, it is through John that we believe.
You would think that through the
repeated seasons of Advent a preacher would grow bored of the same old texts,
but really that isn’t the case. In fact,
I am always surprised at what different verses “pop out” at me each year. As I was reading the familiar story of John
this week I noticed a line I hadn’t noticed before. John is speaking to the Pharisees about the
coming Christ and he says “Among you stands one you do not know.” The Pharisees are missing the signs, they are
missing the light, they are missing Jesus.
And I started wondering, what if we are missing him too?
“Among you stands one you do not
know.” Are we missing the stranger
within our midst? The first line of
thought of course is to consider the literal stranger. This is a great season for sharing. From donating to the Christmas Store, to
putting something in the Toys for Tots box, to dropping money in that famous
red kettle; this season is full of opportunities to share with the
stranger. Among you stands one you do
not know, and our call during this season of sharing is to share what we have
with them. Just a few weeks ago, we were
reminded that whenever we have done it for the least of those among us,
whenever we have helped the stranger, we have helped our Lord. The celebration of Christmas is simply
another step on our great Journey of Generosity.
“Among you stands one you do not
know.” What if, like the Pharisees, we
are missing Jesus within our very midst?
I am thinking of the presence of Jesus, the likeness of Jesus, on
display within our very homes and yet we do not see him. I have several Nativity scenes or Crèches
within my home and each one has a Jesus figure.
I am sure many of you have one set out as well. Perhaps we are even missing that Jesus. Perhaps we are unable to even see and know
this one, who we put out on display to gather dust for a few weeks. Perhaps even this Jesus, the babe in the
manger, is a mystery to us. “Among you
stands one you do not know.”
The writer of the gospel of John
reminds us that John came as a witness, and who is a witness? One who sees.
John is the one who sees what we cannot.
John is the one who tells us what we should be looking for. John is the one who is telling us to open our
eyes to the power of God in our world.
The great cosmic power of our creator
God is present in our everyday lives.
There are moments when it breaks in and surprises us. Moments when our eyes pop open and we
suddenly come to the realization of God’s great love. But most of the time our eyes are
closed. Most of the time we don’t
see. Most of the time we miss the in-breaking
power of God. Advent is a special time
to focus on opening our eyes. To listen
to the testimony of John, the witness, and try to see what he sees. “The true light, which enlightens everyone,
is coming into the world.” How do we open our eyes to see it, so we don’t miss
the one standing among us even now?
John of course, tells us to prepare
the way of the Lord, and there are lots of powerful ways to do that this time
of year. One way of course is to prepare
our own selves, our own eyes and hearts for the coming of Christ. This season offers us lots of opportunity to
train our hearts to listen and see. From
the daily advent devotionals, to weekly Taize service, to all the special
events on Sundays you have a whole host of opportunities to prepare a way in
your own heart this year, so you don’t miss the one standing right beside you.
I was also thinking this week about my
role as a parent. Taking the time to
talk about Advent, to tell the Christmas story, and to worship together with my
children is also a method of preparing the way.
As I spent this week doing stickers on the kid’s advent wreath
devotionals I realized I was preparing their hearts to see God. I cannot give them faith, but I can prime the
pump so to speak, by familiarizing them with the language and stories of the
God I so dearly love. I can prepare
their hearts when they are young, and when they are older it will be up to God
to do the rest.
Of course, the biggest preparation
this time of year is to focus Christmas on Christ. I’ve told you before how much I love Santa
and all the magic of that Christmas story, but where my heart really lies is in
the story of the baby Jesus. I love to
focus on incarnation this time of year, as that is the miracle we are truly
celebrating. God came among us in the
form of a child. All that was cosmic,
all that was light and hope and power and love, all that was in the beginning,
is suddenly present in the form of a tiny baby.
God did not come among us as a man, but as a child, small and weak and
full of questions and wonder. It is the
most beautiful and wonderful thing ever.
Save the cross and salvation for Easter; this is Christmas and it is all
about the miracle of the incarnation, God with us, Emmanuel.
When we get distracted by our
busyness, when we get distracted by our daily lives and to do lists, even when
we get distracted by the other stories the church tells at other times of the
year; then we risk missing Emmanuel. Then “Among us stands one we do not know.” John has come to show us the way, John has
come to open our eyes, John has come to call us to prepare. Now is the time to share with the stranger,
to re-examine and re-think that babe in the nativity, and to tell stories of
our incarnate God to our children and to those we love. Now is the time to open our eyes and to see
the cosmic God in our everyday world.
The true light which enlightens everyone is here among us now. Let’s not miss it. Amen.