A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year B
Preached at the Church of St Columba and All Hallows,
Sunday 14 December 2008
Preached at the Church of St Columba and All Hallows,
Sunday 14 December 2008
We hear about St John the Baptist on the middle two Sundays in Advent, which might be a hint that the Baptist has something important to say to us as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Last week we heard of the three Advents: Christ’s coming in humility to be born at Bethlehem, his coming again in glory to judge the world, and the middle coming, when he enters our lives today. John’s call to Prepare the way of the Lord referred at first to Christ’s coming of old, the first Advent, but it now speaks to us of that middle Advent, so that by penitence and prayer we both can prepare his way to us and prepare his way to others around us. The account of John’s witness or testimony in today’s Gospel helps us to understand more about our own witness to the coming of Christ.
The Gospel passage is in two parts. The two opening verses come from the Prologue to Saint John’s Gospel, the Hymn of the Word of God coming into the World as the Light of the World It declares that John was sent from God, not to be the Light, but to bear witness to the Light. After that we jump over the great Christmas Gospel of the Word Incarnate to hear of the witness that John bore when a delegation was sent from Jerusalem to inquire into his teaching, and, putting it bluntly, to ask Who do you think you are? It would be easy to think that this inquiry proceeded from malice as if they were trying to trap John and destroy him, as was later done to Jesus. But it was not necessarily so. If the religious authorities at Jerusalem (whom St John calls “the Jews”, v. 19) sent to inquire into John’s ministry, it was because they had the clear duty of investigating anyone who went about claiming to be a prophet and judge whether they were true or false. Since John’s preaching and his call to a baptism of repentance had stirred up the whole countryside and, as .St Luke informs us, “all questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ”, it would have been as wicked for them not to investigate his mission as it was, later to reject his message.
So their question, Who are you? meant in part, Do you claim to be the promised Messiah? Messiah means the Anointed one; in Greek the word is Christos, our Christ. To explain everything that the word meant in the time of Jesus would be more of a lecture than is helpful for preaching. The idea had both religious and political implications, and it is perhaps enough for us to note that not the least reason a claim to be Messiah was dangerous was that it would bring down the power of Rome. So we can understand that they would ask, Are you the Christ? That at any rate is the question John answered. He confessed, and he did not deny, but he confessed, I am to the Christ So they asked whom he claimed to be. What then, Are you Elijah, are you the Prophet? The coming of Elijah before the Day of the Lord was foretold in the third chapter of Malachi, while Deuteronomy 18 spoke of the coming a prophet like Moses. Both of these figures were associated with the fevered expectations of the people. Jesus in his time was also associated with this prophet (John 6.14, 7.40). When John denied this, they were perplexed: Who are you then? We have to say something to those who sent us! At this he gave the answer that is familiar to us from the other Gospels, “I am the voice crying in the wilderness”. This was not a help to the delegation, Why then do you baptize, if you are no one in particular? Now he could bear witness to the one to come after, whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. To loosen the sandal was beneath the dignity even of a humble disciple, for it was said, “Every service which a servant will perform for his master, a disciple will do for his Rabbi, except loosing his sandal thong.”
More of John’s witness than this is recorded in the fourth Gospel, and we should particularly bear keep chapter 3 verses 26-30 in mind as we read today’s Gospel,. In it we hear that John’s disciples come to tell him that Jesus was baptizing and that “everyone was going to him”. Then John reminded them that he had born witness, I am not the Christ, but I was sent before him. The friend of the bridegroom rejoices when he hears the bridegroom’s voice; therefore this joy of mine is full. He must increase but I must decrease.
John rejoiced that people went from him to Jesus; he must increase, but I must decrease. He knew that he was nothing in himself but God’s messenger to call folk to Christ. there can be no clearer message for us. God did not call us into the Church so that our neighbours can see how good we are, or to hear our voices or our ideas; he called us so that we can point to Jesus, bring peoples’ attention to him. But how often we get in the way. If it is not because we want to make people look at us, it is because we do things that make them look at us, and distract them from Christ. At worst, the things Christians do hinder love of Christ, their sins, their quarrels. But we prayed this morning that God would remove from us those things that hinder love of him.
In the eleven days left until Christmas let us ask as simple question: is there something I am doing that I one of the things that hinders the love of God? Do I somehow get in the way, so that my neighbours see and hear not Christ but me? Are we as a Church pointing to Christ, or are we pointing to ourselves. I am not going to answer these questions —I can’t answer these questions; I only know that a person or Church who does not regularly ask these questions is in great danger of being a hindrance. It is not enough just to ask the question; we must know what to do to point away from ourselves, to sit down, as it were, and stop blocking everyone else’s view. The answer begins, as always in prayer.
Assuming that you all pray regularly each day, if not necessarily “without ceasing”, it is very important to ask the Lord to make himself known to you. There is no one way of doing this; it may be enough, after saying the Lord’s prayer, and the usual daily ACTS of prayer to repeat some such verse of the Gospel, as “Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief” trusting that he will increase you faith and knowledge; or simply to ask the Lord for this in faith, each day. Such prayer is the first step to turning from self and knowing the Lord so that you can point to him. Then we in our day and our community can be like John, finding our true joy as Christ increases, but perhaps not even caring if we decrease, as long as we are with him.
The Gospel passage is in two parts. The two opening verses come from the Prologue to Saint John’s Gospel, the Hymn of the Word of God coming into the World as the Light of the World It declares that John was sent from God, not to be the Light, but to bear witness to the Light. After that we jump over the great Christmas Gospel of the Word Incarnate to hear of the witness that John bore when a delegation was sent from Jerusalem to inquire into his teaching, and, putting it bluntly, to ask Who do you think you are? It would be easy to think that this inquiry proceeded from malice as if they were trying to trap John and destroy him, as was later done to Jesus. But it was not necessarily so. If the religious authorities at Jerusalem (whom St John calls “the Jews”, v. 19) sent to inquire into John’s ministry, it was because they had the clear duty of investigating anyone who went about claiming to be a prophet and judge whether they were true or false. Since John’s preaching and his call to a baptism of repentance had stirred up the whole countryside and, as .St Luke informs us, “all questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ”, it would have been as wicked for them not to investigate his mission as it was, later to reject his message.
So their question, Who are you? meant in part, Do you claim to be the promised Messiah? Messiah means the Anointed one; in Greek the word is Christos, our Christ. To explain everything that the word meant in the time of Jesus would be more of a lecture than is helpful for preaching. The idea had both religious and political implications, and it is perhaps enough for us to note that not the least reason a claim to be Messiah was dangerous was that it would bring down the power of Rome. So we can understand that they would ask, Are you the Christ? That at any rate is the question John answered. He confessed, and he did not deny, but he confessed, I am to the Christ So they asked whom he claimed to be. What then, Are you Elijah, are you the Prophet? The coming of Elijah before the Day of the Lord was foretold in the third chapter of Malachi, while Deuteronomy 18 spoke of the coming a prophet like Moses. Both of these figures were associated with the fevered expectations of the people. Jesus in his time was also associated with this prophet (John 6.14, 7.40). When John denied this, they were perplexed: Who are you then? We have to say something to those who sent us! At this he gave the answer that is familiar to us from the other Gospels, “I am the voice crying in the wilderness”. This was not a help to the delegation, Why then do you baptize, if you are no one in particular? Now he could bear witness to the one to come after, whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. To loosen the sandal was beneath the dignity even of a humble disciple, for it was said, “Every service which a servant will perform for his master, a disciple will do for his Rabbi, except loosing his sandal thong.”
More of John’s witness than this is recorded in the fourth Gospel, and we should particularly bear keep chapter 3 verses 26-30 in mind as we read today’s Gospel,. In it we hear that John’s disciples come to tell him that Jesus was baptizing and that “everyone was going to him”. Then John reminded them that he had born witness, I am not the Christ, but I was sent before him. The friend of the bridegroom rejoices when he hears the bridegroom’s voice; therefore this joy of mine is full. He must increase but I must decrease.
John rejoiced that people went from him to Jesus; he must increase, but I must decrease. He knew that he was nothing in himself but God’s messenger to call folk to Christ. there can be no clearer message for us. God did not call us into the Church so that our neighbours can see how good we are, or to hear our voices or our ideas; he called us so that we can point to Jesus, bring peoples’ attention to him. But how often we get in the way. If it is not because we want to make people look at us, it is because we do things that make them look at us, and distract them from Christ. At worst, the things Christians do hinder love of Christ, their sins, their quarrels. But we prayed this morning that God would remove from us those things that hinder love of him.
In the eleven days left until Christmas let us ask as simple question: is there something I am doing that I one of the things that hinders the love of God? Do I somehow get in the way, so that my neighbours see and hear not Christ but me? Are we as a Church pointing to Christ, or are we pointing to ourselves. I am not going to answer these questions —I can’t answer these questions; I only know that a person or Church who does not regularly ask these questions is in great danger of being a hindrance. It is not enough just to ask the question; we must know what to do to point away from ourselves, to sit down, as it were, and stop blocking everyone else’s view. The answer begins, as always in prayer.
Assuming that you all pray regularly each day, if not necessarily “without ceasing”, it is very important to ask the Lord to make himself known to you. There is no one way of doing this; it may be enough, after saying the Lord’s prayer, and the usual daily ACTS of prayer to repeat some such verse of the Gospel, as “Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief” trusting that he will increase you faith and knowledge; or simply to ask the Lord for this in faith, each day. Such prayer is the first step to turning from self and knowing the Lord so that you can point to him. Then we in our day and our community can be like John, finding our true joy as Christ increases, but perhaps not even caring if we decrease, as long as we are with him.
