Who is this John and what is his message and what does it have to do with me?
This is the message I preached Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Luke 3:1-6.
Who is this John and what is his message and what does it have to do with me? Every second Sunday of Advent we meet up again with John. He is prominent in all four gospels. What more is there that we can possibly learn from him? What does God want to say to us this week, in this place, through this gospel passage?
Luke begins his story of John by anchoring it in time and space, in history. We have a proverbial gallery of luminaries, first the secular, political rulers, then the religious leadership.
However, after our list of luminaries, we find these words, "…the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness" (v. 2). The word did not come to the special, important people: the political or religious leaders. The word of God did not come to the expected people in the expected place in the expected way but instead came to John in the wilderness. God met John, the prophet, right where John was—not in the glory of the temple, but in the barrenness of the desert. In its emptiness, its plainness, there were no distractions. Just as the word of God came to John, Jesus, the Word incarnate came to humanity in Christ’s humble birth. God again came to the world in an unexpected way to unexpected people.
The word of God came to John. John is in the line of God’s ancient prophets. He was a threshold figure, a prophet standing in the gap between the Hebrew prophets of old, like Isaiah, and the promised prophet to come, Jesus. John’s father was a priest in the temple, but John isn’t exactly following in his footsteps, or is he? John serves God and is a messenger from God to God’s people, just as his father was, but his style is just a bit different. John lived in the wilderness, the desert. He eats locusts and wild honey. He did not dress in great finery like Jerusalem’s religious leaders. He did not eat bread or drink wine as they did (Luke 7:33). Matthew and Mark’s gospels tell us, “…John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4). I imagine him as a wild-looking sort of man, don't you?
Luke tells us that John proclaimed “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (v. 3) This message was preached in “all the region” (v. 3). Repentance is a radical change of heart and being. This is not a message that the kingdom of God is near, but rather change your way of thinking for forgiveness. Forgiveness comes from the Greek root to “let go!” It is, as Pastor Brian Stoffregen writes, “…declaring to self and God, ‘I can’t.’”The other side of confessing “I can’t” is “God can” (Brian Stoffregen, crossmarks.com).
The word of God comes to … us! Our thoughts and words may echo Mary’s, “How can this be?” or perhaps we may protest the coming of God’s word and mission to us. Throughout history, this has been the reaction of some of God’s greatest prophets, “Who me?” Others are better educated, more well-spoken. Does that remind you of Moses? God says, “Yes, you. And don’t worry about the mission you have been given because I will be with you.” God doesn’t just come and go, but remains with us, even when we don’t recognize God’s presence.
Bible scholar, Kathy Beach-Verhey, writes, “The word of God comes in the wilderness in strange, unconventional ways, yet promises a new and better tomorrow, for the Savior of the world is both there with us and coming soon to redeem and restore us” (Feasting On the Gospels—Luke, Volume 1).
How do we prepare the way for God? We make it easy for the Messiah, for the salvation of God to come. But how? Repentance. Making ourselves entirely available to God to do whatever God wants to do with our lives.
So…who is this John and what is his message and what does it have to do with me? John was a prophet who prepared the way for Christ. He proclaimed a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (v. 3).
John was a sign of the coming Christ. I am a sign. You are a sign. Together, we are signs to all of the movement of God in our lives and how this impacts our world. God is with us, in us and wants to work through us.
God's message is for everyone, not only the rich and powerful, political and religious leaders but the marginalized, the hurting, the hungry and the poor. Quoting Isaiah, Luke writes, "and all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (v. 6).
But today very little is certain about the post-pandemic world, (whenever that may be!) except for the promise in John’s proclamation in the wilderness. “God enters this time and this space in this period of history, so that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (v. 6) (Audrey West, workingpreacher.org).
How can we be signs like John the Baptist? Let God bury God’s word deep within your heart by spending time with God in prayer, reading scripture, Bible study, worship and especially listening to see what God might say. Then our lives will be the signs to point the way to Christ, our life. This is not my job alone as the pastor. It is the mission of all the people of God, given to us in baptism. As our Affirmation of Baptism liturgy says, we are “to proclaim Christ through word and deed, to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth” (ELW, p. 236). Each of us responds to these responsibilities with these words, “I do, and I ask God to help and guide me” (ELW, p. 236). Please say it with me, “I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.” Amen.
Resources
Eric Fistler and Robb McCoy, pulpitfiction.com
Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Feasting On the Word—Year C, Volume 1
Brian Stoffregen, crossmarks.com
Kathy Beach-Verhey, Feasting On the Gospels—Luke, Volume 1
Audrey West, workingpreacher.org
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