Preparing the Way

December 7^th, 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.