Sunday 11 December 2011

John the Witness

St Giles Cheddington – Advent 3 – 11 December 2011

Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 5.16-24

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

Gospel John 1.6-8,19-28

Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
All Alleluia.

When the Gospel is announced the reader says

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.”

They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptise if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

“I baptise with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

As you probably know these words, addressed to the believers in Thessalonica, are taken from the oldest text in the New Testament. It’s Paul’s first letter, and is addressed to a community he loved. At this early point in his ministry, everyone believed in the imminent return of the Lord. He tells them how it will happen. God will bring with him those who have died. Then those who are still alive will be caught up, together with them, to be with the Lord forever.

In the meantime, the Thessalonians are reminded how they should behave. What life in a Christian community should be like. Do good. Help the weak. Do not repay evil for evil. It sounds straightforward, but it was, and still is, radical.

The standard governing life in the 1st century world familiar to Paul and the Thessalonians was very different to that ideal. It was about receiving respect from others. Maintaining your position in society. It was about pay back. Receiving the respect of others – not giving it. Yet here was Paul advocating something entirely different. He was counselling believers to be weak. To risk being taken advantage of at every turn. Not repaying evil for evil, but good. Instead of everyone being out for himself or herself as the world is, the believers were to be out for others.

How like what we have become today! Now that most people no longer profess a strong faith, they lack external standards in their lives. Their behaviour seems to be governed not by a fixed moral code but by copying others. If someone else is looting a shop, then it must be OK for them to do the same. The only restraint that is left is not the police – they can’t be everywhere – but the eyes of CCTV. The big question is not “Is it right?” but “Can I get away with it?”

Paul’s advice is equally radical when he talks of people’s personal lives. He commands three things. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances.

Command is probably the wrong word. They are not really commands that must be fulfilled. Why? Because no one can, in their own strength, achieve any of them. Who can always rejoice, whatever the world throws at them? Who can give thanks all the time? Who can pray without ceasing?

No – these are not commands but fruits of the Spirit. You can find them listed in Galatians. And if fruits, they are surely also signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit, not only in us but in our community of faith.

Paul is saying that, if the Holy Spirit is in our midst, there will be rejoicing, thanksgiving and prayer at the heart of our life together and individually. But if these things are signs, they are also surely imperatives. We must be open to the work of the Holy Spirit in order for these signs to be manifest in us.

Openness is all that is asked of us. We cannot claim anything for ourselves. It’s rather like today’s reading from the beginning of John’s gospel. Nowhere does John the Baptist say who he is or what he claims for himself. Read the chapter carefully. Nowhere is he even called John the Baptist.

John says he’s a witness to another. He himself isn’t the Light. He’s not the Messiah. He’s not Elijah. He’s not even a prophet. He’s just the finger of God, pointing towards another. “Behold” says John. “Do you see him? The Word made flesh. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World. The light.”

Have you ever visited the Kango Caves in South Africa? Or any other deep cave system I suppose. Cavern after cavern. Stalactites and stalagmites. And in this case, heat, humidity, 4 metre shafts to climb and letterboxes to wriggle through. At one point, they turn out the lights. The darkness is total. You could wait for hours, and still not see your hand in front of your face.

That’s what John is talking about. The darkness of sin. For John, sin is not just wrongdoing. Not immorality. Not transgressions we can all count up on a daily basis. No – sin is unbelief. The light has gone out. Sin is a tragic separation from God himself.

The tiniest of light in Kango caves would be seen for miles. That, for John, is the Light coming into the world. It banishes darkness by its very existence, however strong or weak it may be.

In darkness, we have a desperate need for light, and our need is satisfied at Christmas. As we light our 3rd Advent candle we are reminded of John the Witness, who declares the incarnation, who points to the light shining out where darkness should prevail. He speaks to our fundamental need as human beings for that light.

And at the end of Advent, before there is the Word made flesh, there is the promise that in the midst of all of the darkness of humanity, that light will now light will shine. Amen

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