The Third Sunday of
Advent
John 1:6-8,19-28
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. This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed and did not deny
it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are
you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”
Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent
us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out
in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah
said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are
you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”
John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not
know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his
sandal.” This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
For the second week in a row, the
Gospel introduces us to John the Baptist.
Last week’s introduction was from Mark.
This week’s introduction is from John.
We hear this on the Rose Sunday in
Advent, the Sunday that marks that we are over halfway through the time of
preparation that precedes Christmas. It
might seem then that there is a shift in focus in these Advent days away from
the last things and the Second Coming of Christ to the First Coming, the birth
of Jesus. We know, after all, that in the
Gospel, John the Baptist is put forward as the Forerunner to the Messiah, the
one who prepares the way for the Lord to come.
John fills this task wonderfully and
with a spirit of humility. At one point
in this Gospel, the religious leaders of the day question John as to who he is
and why he is acting as he is among the people.
They ask him if he is the Messiah.
When he denies this, they ask him if he is Elijah. That question is driven by the Old Testament
prophecy that Elijah would return to prepare the way for the coming of
Messiah. John comes out and denies that
he is Elijah. He even denies the fact
that he is a prophet. The leaders are
completely lost as to who John is because of his denial of being Messiah,
Elijah, or a prophet.
But what does Jesus say later about
John? Remember that at one point the
disciples bring up the question of Elijah and his coming. Jesus tells them outright that Elijah has
come, and by his description of what their generation did to Elijah upon his
return, it is perfectly clear in the disciples’ minds that he is speaking of
John. These same disciples who often
don’t understand what Jesus is saying when he speaks bluntly understand from
the subtilty of Jesus’ words that John the Baptist is Elijah come to prepare
the way.
But why, if we are not yet turning
out focus to celebrating the birth of Christ from preparing for the coming of
the victorious Christ who shall come a second time, are we hearing about John
the Baptist, the Forerunner of Jesus?
There is a good reason. John
inspires us and shows us both the importance of preparing the way for Jesus and
the need for us to go and do likewise.
Right here and right now, in this generation, we who are the baptized
children of God, who have been clothed in Christ and who long for his coming,
are called to be like John. We are the
forerunners to the Christ at this precise moment in history. You see, in these Advent days, it is not
enough that we simply prepare ourselves to greet Christ at his return. We are called to prepare the world. We who have received the Great Commission to
go into the world and proclaim the Gospel, to make Christ known, are called to
prepare the world to meet Jesus, whether that meeting happen at the end of each
person’s life or on the Last and Great Day, the Day of Resurrection.
So how are we doing at preparing the
world to greet Christ? This, my friends,
is a question of Evangelism. Remember
that those four saints who have shared the Gospel with the Church in every time
and place are called the Evangelists. Only,
these four are not alone. All Christians
are to be Evangelists who make Jesus known, who share the story of faith and
speak of the transformation that has happened in our own lives and in the world
about us because of the awareness of the loving presence of Christ in our
midst.
Let’s be perfectly blunt about this
fact: Episcopalians are not very good at this calling! All too often our Christian faith and
identity is our “dirty little secret.” I
remember one moment in my own life and ministry that spoke this unfortunate
truth. In November 2013, I walked into
Grace Church Kingston for a regional confirmation liturgy. At some point after my arrival and vesting
for the liturgy, I ran into a friend of mine who works at the hospital. Both she and I had the same response when we
saw each other. We both said: “What are
you doing here?” And we were both
surprised when we heard each other’s responses; that I am a priest of the
Diocese of Bethlehem and she a member of Grace Church. In the years that have passed since that
night, our friendship has been strengthened and deepened by the awareness that
we share a common identity and faith.
What is even more disturbing than
this is that while we keep our secret, we tend to mock those who wear their
faith on their sleeves, especially those who are willing to go door to door to
share their faith and invite others to consider God and faith. There are two groups that we think of most
along these lines. And while I have
serious concerns about the faith that these two groups proclaim, even to the
extent that I would tell you that much of what they have to say is heresy and
not authentically Christian, I nevertheless respect their willingness, desire,
and commitment to share their faith with the world in the hopes that others
will embrace their faith. In fact, to be
perfectly honest, I often wish that we who are uneasy with doing such things
would be bold enough to stand up and share the faith that we say amongst
ourselves has radically transformed us and will do likewise for others.
Ultimately John the Baptist was put
to death because of his boldness. In
like manner, the martyrs whose blood was the seed of the faith in their
generation died because of that boldness.
And by their bold sharing and proclaiming the loving presence of God,
their witness inspired others to embrace the faith.
Today, my friends, we live among a
generation who needs Christians to step forward as forerunners to the Christ
who share the faith in the hopes that the transformation of the Gospel will
change lives in our own day. Are we bold
enough to step forward? Is there enough
evidence of this faith that we could be both accused and found guilty of being
a Christian, of belonging to Jesus Christ, and expecting that we shall stand
before him in eternal life?
As we finish out these last eight
days of Advent, let us ask Christ for the words and actions necessary to
prepare the way that Christ shall choose to break into our midst today, at the
hour of our death, and on the Day of Resurrection, to transform the hearts of those
who as of yet have not come to know the love of God and embrace relationship
with Jesus, who desires that all the world would find life eternal in his
embrace that brings true joy to our hearts.
Father Timothy
Alleman
