Questions
A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent
December 17, 2023 St. James’s, Richmond
The Rev. Robin Teasley
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. John 1:6-8,19-28
It's the third Sunday of Advent, and you have come here, even though the stores are open, the gifts need wrapping, a storm is approaching, there are still many things left undone, and only a week until Christmas. Perhaps you have come to hear God’s voice; to hear something that might ease the tension between the joy of Christmas and the chaos in the world, or maybe you are hoping to hear God’s voice in your own wilderness.
But after hearing the Gospel reading you may be wondering if someone has made a mistake. Because today’s Gospel sounds a lot like last week’s. It’s that same voice crying in the wilderness, again! You could have just stayed home and gotten some things checked off your list; because today, even though we are hearing John’s gospel instead of Mark’s, the story has not changed, or has it?
Last week we heard John the baptizer proclaiming a baptism of repentance. People from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized. In Mark’s account John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and his lunchbox was full of locust bites and wild honey dip. This description of John might cause some concern. Sure, John had gone viral in the social media of his day, but would we invite him to our Christmas party?
This week’s description of John is different. He’s not called the baptizer here, there is nothing mentioned in today’s reading about his dress or his diet, there are no commands to repent. This is different. We are told simply that John is a man sent from God. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. This is not the fiery, radical John we thought we knew. He’s not quite what we expected. John seems to have changed from John the baptizer to John the witness.
The priests and Levites of Jerusalem have come to investigate this voice in the wilderness; they have questions. Who are you? John answers that he is not the Messiah, he is not Elijah, he is not the prophet. John is most emphatic about who he is not, and this stumps the authorities. They were looking for a prophet who would anoint the messiah. And their expectations had led them to John. After all he looked and sounded an awful lot like a prophet, and he was attracting large crowds out in the wilderness.
So they asked him again, who are you? What do you say about yourself?John replied, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.” Well, this was not what they expected!
Perhaps one of these versions of John is not what you expected. Some of us may prefer John the baptizer. We like the show, the excitement, the charisma, the outrageousness of this fiery prophet. He’s so countercultural, so entertaining, even if we could never do what he does. He’s fun to watch!
Others of us may prefer John the witness, who is much less flashy, more thoughtful and introspective. Even so, he may be equally challenging, because most of us Episcopalians would rather not talk about things like witnessing or testimony. We are happy to let others do that.
It’s worth some prayerful consideration for us to ask ourselves, “who am I, and what do I say about myself?”
As people of faith we are called to respond to these questions, to consider this responsibility. What does our response look like? Because this is what it means to be a witness, to testify to the light, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ.
You may love John the baptizer, which means we will see you out there making some noise for Jesus! Things like organizing outreach programs, leading mission trips, speaking up for social justice, or helping out at the homeless shelter. We will see you dressed up for a major role in the Christmas pageant, or leading the youth group. Your out loud faith testifies to the light that has come among us.
Or, you may better relate to John the witness, spending time pondering who you are and who you are not, and finding quiet ways to live into your faith. Ways like having one on one spiritual conversations, serving on altar guild, teaching Godly Play to the children, visiting the sick or homebound, or writing notes of encouragement to others. Your quiet faith, day after day, testifies to the light that has come among us.
Centuries before John appeared in the wilderness, the Prophet Isaiah had a message for God’s people: bring good news to the oppressed, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, release the prisoners, comfort all who mourn, and repair the ruined cities. How we accomplish these things will depend upon our answers to the questions posed to John.
Here’s the thing, John is both baptizer and witness and we are called to become both baptizer and witness in our response to the love of God. There are a million ways for us to testify to the light of Christ in this world, to make the way straight.
You be you, using your particular gifts to bring hope to those lost in the wilderness, peace to those at war with others and within themselves, joy to the sorrowful, and love to those who believe they are unloveable. In doing this we become God’s everyday prophets, making the way straight, and shining light into the darkness.
As Advent moves us closer to the light, take some time to ask yourself the questions asked of John the baptizer, John the witness.
Who are you? What do you say about yourself?
Title Image: John the Baptist in the Wilderness, Johannes de Doper (Geertgen Tot Sint Jans)
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