December 17, 2023 – Advent 3B

“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.” Jonh 1:6-8, 19-28

The text for today tells us more about who John wasn’t than about who he was: he wasn’t the light; he wasn’t the Messiah; he wasn’t Elijah; he wasn’t the prophet. Who, then, was he? He was a witness and he had a voice — a voice telling people to prepare for someone else, someone whose sandal-thong John was unworthy to untie. What seems important about John is TWO-FOLD:  what John says about Jesus — and how he says it. John is a witness (martyría; John 1:7) who testifies (martyréo; John 1:7, 19) to the good news of Jesus Christ. Those two words are used more than forty-five times in John’s Gospel — They have their origin in the legal world. They imply public testimony to something that one guarantees is absolutely true. When a witness testifies to something, he or she stakes his or her life on it; or at least that is what we are led to believe. To be a “false witness” — is to commit perjury. This, of course, explains the origin of our English word martyr: a martyr in our world is someone who suffers the ultimate sacrifice when his or her public testimony is deemed false by the leading authority. John the Baptist will be one of many martyrs to testify on behalf of Jesus. Like John the Baptist, the church, which of course includes you and I, we are sent into today’s world as witnesses — and we are sent into this world as humble witnesses.

Now there are many ways to witness to or about something. Yes, one of the ways is to speak the truth. But we can also witness to a belief by how we live. The trick is to bear witness to this truth with humility. For John, that meant directing people away from himself and toward Jesus. Notice how people are trying to make sense of John. “Who are you? What do you say about yourself?”. See how they are more interested in getting John to talk about John, to see if he brags about himself and his ministry. I am sure you have had the situation come up where you try to talk to someone about the church, or faith, and soon the conversation turns to them, and their lives — because people are, by nature, selfish and anxious to tell you how great they are; or their kids; or their grandkids.  My wife and I have met a few people in our lives who  eagerly told us how great they are – or how they are the smartest person they know. This is not the kind of witnessing John was talking about — and demonstrating. When they ask John “What do you say about yourself?” He says: “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ ” as the prophet Isaiah said.

He was not necessarily known by his contemporaries as John the Baptist. He is simply called a “man from God” who is called to witness. And we hear the humility of the testimony of John:

“…the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.”

And from his witness we understand, hopefully, our place in life –

firmly behind Jesus. John was a witness who testified – who proclaimed the presence of the Lord.  We are apostles who are sent by Jesus Christ to share the good news – to take the light to a world constantly threatened by an overwhelming darkness.  Does it sound too hard? I ask you again “Who are you?”  Maybe I should say “Whose are you?” God knows who you are – you are a loved child of God.

Pastor Dave

December 15, 2023 – Never Needing Repetition

“But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Hebrews 9:26b

The Greek word translated as “once for all” is the word “Hapax”. The literal translation is “once for all, never needing repetition”. The implication is clear: Christ has appeared to the world one time for all people, for all time, to act definitively and purposely to remove sin from the world through his death and resurrection. It is a firm statement on the saving work of Jesus for all people, for all time. He has come into this age, to usher in a new age, but this age must be brought to completion. That is where you and I come into the picture. We are the ones who are to be part of the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ. In joining Jesus in his ministry we are doing the work necessary to bring to completion the work of this age.

The question you may ask is “What is the work that needs to be done?” The answer is multi-layered, like an onion. The more we strip away the façade of the quick fixes by government and see the inner reality of our communities, we come to realize that many of our people are broken, and our communities are broken as well. We cannot fix them alone – we need the assistance of other people, and of course we need the presence of the Holy Spirit. Christ has come, once for all time, to take upon himself the sins of the world. Christ will come again to take us all to the place he has prepared for each one of us (John 14).

Just look around you each and every day – you will see where our presence is needed – and where Jesus is absent as we continue as co-workers with Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Dave

December 16, 2023 — Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

“When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Matthew 21:1 – 9

It is easy to see G-d in the extraordinary, in the sacred, and in the beauty of the earth. It is not so easy to see G-d in the ordinary, the everyday, the dull, the dim, and the dank. Yet, if we proclaim that G-d is in all things, then we should see G-d in ALL things.

I do not like winter. Spring is my favorite time of year. In the winter there are so many things happening – we are watching out for bad weather, we are preparing for Christmas, there are gifts to purchase, and many services to prepare. As such it can be hard to see and to feel G-d’s presence. And yet G-d continues to be alive and active in so many ways. When it gets dark at 5:00 pm in the evening and the cold chills you to the bone it is easy to see how many people can feel down and depressed in the winter. Combine that with the problems and tribulations that life can bring it is no wonder many can feel alone this time of year.

What I have learned in my life is this: when I feel as if G-d has forgotten about me, then I need to pay more attention to G-d. Just because things may have soured in my life does not mean that G-d has forsaken me. I need to remind myself every day that Christ is still active, in the midst of the bad, and in the presence of the good, and in the mix of the mundane. Christ is always there, I just need to find ways to keep my eyes on the prize.

Pastor Dave