December 14, 2008
Point to the Light
- Isaiah 61:1-4
- Dr. Teri Thomas
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 and John 1:6-8, 19-28
I have been to Bethany, beyond the Jordan where John was baptizing.
It is very desolate and dry.
Not close to any cities.
People traveled some distance to get there.
They knew exactly what John meant when he talked of a path through the desert.
They came from Jerusalem and other cities,
to receive this baptism that John was offering.
It is pretty clear that John had quite a following.
He had such a following that many believed he was in fact the long-expected Messiah.
This is why the Jews sent priests and Levites to ask him-
Who are you?
Are you the Messiah?
They were there to check him out and to report back to the authorities.
Who are you?
That is not always an easy question to answer.
Sometimes it depends on who is asking.
If I am working and someone asks- I am the pastor.
If I am over at CTS I am one of the teachers of X-817.
But if I am attending a neighborhood function and someone asks- I am Jack's wife.
They all know him.
Most of us have multiple ways to define who we are.
When John is asked- Who are you?
He doesn't say, I am son of Elizabeth and Zechariah.
He doesn't say, I am cousin of Jesus of Nazareth
He doesn't say- I am an Essene prophet out causing trouble
No, when John was asked "who are you?"
his first response was- "I am not the Messiah.."
Most of us don't start with who we are not.
Maybe we should.
When I first went to work in Washington DC I inherited a staff that had learned to whine to get what they wanted. I adopted an automatic response and said repeatedly- "Stop whining, I am not your mother." It worked fairly well, until my son started whining and I automatically responded, "Stop whining, I'm not your mother."
We do need to know who we are not.
Through the years I have noticed that every Advent
we experience a significant increase in the number of request for pastoral counseling.
The stress people carry all year
seems to often reach unbearable levels during this season.
We want a Norman Rockwell Christmas
but ours is starting to look like Chevy Chase's.
We want the cheerful, loving family gathering
but Aunt Martha is drunk,
Uncle George is beating his kids,
Cousin Mack is out of work,
niece Sally is knocked up,
and nephew Brad is in jail.
We want those warm holiday feelings
but our check book is empty,
our job is uncertain,
tensions are high.
We want everything to be just right-
for our kids, for our parents, for us.
Like John we need to know, we are not the Messiah.
we cannot do it all
we don't have to be perfect
we are not able to save our relatives and family members from themselves
we cannot fix the world economy
we are not responsible for the coming of the Kingdom
We are not the Messiah.
We do not have to be the Messiah,
because we already have one.
Let Jesus be the Savior he came to be.
John's inquisitors were not satisfied with his response.
They kept pushing.
If you are not the Messiah are you Elijah?
Are you a prophet?
Who are you?
John responded this time by quoting Isaiah's prophecy-
"I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,'"
John came to testify to the light.
In many of the ancient paintings of John the Baptist you will notice that he is pointing.
John's whole identity is wrapped up in being the pointer-
the one who prepares the way for God.
He is living testimony.
John is the symbol of a witnessing community.
He shows us our job is not to be the light, but to point toward the light
We don't think of ourselves primarily as preparers or pointers to show someone else the way. We tend to focus on finding our own way. But John says we find our way to God by showing others the way.
The world should be able to look at us and see that we live differently
they should see us pointing
we are called to live as people of good news, liberation, justice and comfort in such a way that the world may take notice and be drawn to the ways of God.
We are called to a radical trust in what God is doing
even if the mode of operation is far from clear.
It is through our faith and through our mission
that we testify to the light.
John had one last message for his interrogators
that I don't want us to lose sight of this morning.
He said, "the one you are seeking is already among you."
Even as we wait,
God's quiet presence is already in our midst.
Sometimes God is with us, all around us and we know it.
Sometimes God is dramatically present in another person.
Other times God is quiet
and waiting for us to discover the divine presence.
How often do we look past God in our constant busyness
or rush past our Savior in our perpetual concern with what we think is important?
Do we miss the presence of God which can be found in another person?
Sometimes God is just standing there, hardly obvious in the crowd.
Abu Ben Adam
By James Henry Leigh Hunt
Abu Ben Adam, may his tribe increase
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace
And saw, within the moonlight of his room
Making it rich, like a lily in bloom
An angel writing in a book of gold.
Exceeding peace had made Abu Ben Adam bold
And to the presence in his room he said
' What writest thou?'
The vision raised its head
And with a look of all sweet accord Answered:
'The names of those who love the Lord.
'And is mine one?' said Abu.
'Nay not so' Replied the Angel
Abu spoke more low
But cheerily still and said
'I pray thee then Write me as one that loves his fellow-men'
The angel wrote and vanished.
The very next night it came again with awaking light
And showed the names of whom love of God had blessed.
And lo! Ben Adam's name led all the rest.
Amen.