TITLE: “The Voice”

 

In the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.  Our text for today is the Gospel lesson just read, from John chapter one.

A voice of one crying in the wilderness.  John the Baptist is a hard character for us to understand.  Everything in our culture and the world around us wants to make Christmas cute and cuddly.  We want a Christmas that is nice and neat, tied up in a bow.  Everything in its place, and everything must be sweet like syrup.   But this John the Baptist character just doesn’t fit, does he?  You don’t see many Precious Moments characters of John the Baptist, do you?  Camel’s hair, eating locusts and honey, and preaching in the wilderness of the kingdom of God.  No, he doesn’t exactly fit the commercialized conception of the Christmas season.  And try as we might to make him into a little lullaby, his message of repentance simply won’t go away.

And so it was in Jesus’ time, as well.  The priests and the Levites come out to the wilderness east of the Jordan river to ask him a simple question: “Who are you?”  They don’t want to know about his teaching, they don’t ask about his message, or of this One to come he was preaching about.  They want to know who he is?

John knows what they are asking, and so he confesses, I am not the Christ.  Are you Elijah?  They asked.  I am not.  Are you that prophet?  No.  He says.  And with each answer, it’s almost like John is getting a little terse with them.  But they are not going to give up.  Who are you, so that we may give an answer to the ones who sent us.  What do you say about yourself?

John replies, I am the voice of the one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord!  John is not some great king.  He doesn’t even call himself a messenger.  He is the voice.  John the Baptist, the pinnacle and greatest of the Old Testament prophets, is simply the voice.  It’s almost like everything in the Old Testament, all of the prophecies and deeds and types are embodied in this one man, John the Baptist.  Like a funnel gathers liquid into one stream, so John took everything that had happened to the people of Israel to that day to one message.  Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.  Get ready!  He cried.  The King is coming. 

But these priests and Levites, sent by the Pharisees, were not satisfied with that answer.  They knew the prophecy from Isaiah, but they weren’t satisfied, and so they push him a little farther.  Then why do you baptize if you are not the Christ nor Elijah nor that prophet?

John then tells them.  I baptize with water, but there stands one in your midst whom you do not know.  It is he who coming after me is preferred before me, whose sandal I am not worthy to unloose.

Now there is quite a statement from John.  The baptism of John in the Jordan River was a preparation for the coming of Jesus, whose baptism would cleanse from all sin.  And this coming one, this Jesus, He was the one.  John says that he was not worthy to unloose his sandals.  In Jesus’ day, disciples were required to do all sorts of menial tasks for their masters.  But this would be the lowest.  No master would expect that of his disciples.  But John says this to emphasize how much greater the Christ, the Anointed One, was than He.

This message of John the Baptist speaks volumes to us about our preparation for the coming of Our Lord.  Christ was born almost 2000 years ago, so we cannot truly prepare for an event which already happened.  So what is this season about?  How do we make ready the way of the Lord?   Or, for us today, how do we reconcile the preparation for Christmas that we see all around us in the secular world, with the preparation of repentance and faith in the Gospel?

The message of John the Baptist is to make straight the way of our God.  Christian preparation for Christ’s birth and return again is very different from the world.  For the world, Christmas is about self-congratulations, or about some vague idea of “peace” and “goodwill.”  Christmas for many is the thought that for just one day, everything can be right in the world, we can all get along, and everything will be perfect and normal.  We would like to believe the story of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  We would like to believe that everyone would come together and life could be grand and perfect even when things don’t go as we ought.

But nothing could be farther from the truth.  We rejoice with John the Baptist that Christ has come into the world, but we cannot forget that He came for a reason and a purpose.  Christ had to come into the world because of our sin.  Because of the miserable mess we have made of our lives, because of our self-righteousness, because of our pride and arrogance.  My house celebrates Christmas right!  My house has just the right decorations, just the right amount of presents, and just the right amount of joy.

But if your house is like most, Christmas and the holidays bright out the worst in each one of us.  Who among us does not get selfish and greedy when it comes to presents?  Who among us thinks of the poor and all those who have nothing to eat or clothes to wear, while we congratulate ourselves for putting $5 in the offering plate?  For many, all of the family grudges from the past year come right up to the front, the alcohol maybe flows more than it should, and before long, tears start to flow.  But we work so hard at putting up the façade or perfection.  It’s a Norman Rockwell Christmas, until you start to dig a little bit below the surface.

This is the message of John the Baptist.  He calls us to repentance, He calls us to be turned away from our sinful pride and selfishness, and to be turned to Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.   The Jews kept trying to put the focus on John, but he just wouldn’t let it stay there, would he?  I am not the Christ.  I am not Elijah come back from the dead.  I am not the prophet who is to come.  No, don’t look at me (said John), look at Jesus!  Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

It’s hard, isn’t it?  It’s hard to get over yourself.  It’s hard to come to the realization that left to your own devices, you’re just not worth anything.  But in Christ Jesus, you are more precious than anything in the world.  Remember, this is the message of John, Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Now this isn’t about bad things that other people do.  Nor is it about bad people, in the worldly sense.  It isn’t about the Jeffrey Dahmer’s or the Unabomber or such obvious sin.  No, this is about you.  Or, even better, this is for you.  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and that means you.

John said that he wasn’t worthy to untie Jesus’ shoes, but what does Jesus do for you?  He died to save you.  He washed you clean and clothes you with the garments of salvation (Is. 61).  He has arrayed you in a robe of righteousness.  This is not your doing, mind you.  This is all his work.  He came into the world to seek and to save the lost, and so it is that He is calling you today out of darkness into His marvelous light.  It is Jesus who washes the disciples feet, and it is Jesus who washes you clean as well.

John pointed to the light of Jesus Christ, and so it is that we look, we watch and pray and eagerly await His coming.  For He comes to you now in His preaching and in His Holy Meal.  He comes to you with words of comfort.  He comes to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and to release prisoners from darkness.  He comes to comfort you in your heartache and distress.  And we all have it, admit it or not.  For this world we live in is harsh and unforgiving.  But God is loving and merciful.

The ancient church called this Sunday Gaudete Sunday, which means Rejoice!  So it is that we light the pink Advent candle, and we rejoice this day to think of the Messiah who is to come, and indeed who comes to us now.  Our Epistle lesson today (I Thess. 5: 16-24) urges us to be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  If you see your life in Jesus Christ, then you have reason to be joyful.  That is how John the Baptist could rejoice at seeing the Lamb of God, even though He would soon die a martyr’s death.  That is how you may rejoice, not in some sort of sappy “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” sort of joy.  For it does not take long for the Christian to know that there is much sadness in the world.  But you can be joyful because you are in Jesus Christ, and it is in Him that there lies true joy.

So clear the path!  Shake off the garments of filth and shame that is your sin.  Put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness given you at your baptism, and come and join in the feast of all creation!  For here, at our Lord’s table, you receive true joy which has no end.  For in Jesus Christ, righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.  Here you, with John the Baptist, are a witness to the death and life again of Jesus Christ.  For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death until he comes.  Lo, He comes to save you.  Amen.

And now may the peace of God, which passes all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Rev. Todd A. Peperkorn

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Advent III-B, December 12, 1999