Good morning. Today is Rose Sunday.

1 1 Sermon John 6-8, 19-28 St. Matthew s Parish Dec. 10, 2011 Brian Palmer+ good morning . Today is rose sunday . It marks the half way point in Advent and it gives us a little break from the solemn nature of the season so that we might evaluate where we are in our preparation for the coming of the light into the world. Well, I don t know about you, but I m not doing very well. My preparation has fallen behind. You see, I m strictly an A type and I ve been so busy with day-to-day tasks that I haven t put aside time for a special Advent devotion.

2 I usually read an Advent-themed book or take on a spiritual discipline, but not so I just can t seem to slow down long enough to take on another task. And you know, some things never change. My father once described me as someone who was perpetually running in circles trying to stop. That s how I feel this Advent. I can t stop: there s so much to do and yet I feel guilty for not doing something, anything to help me focus on what is really taking place right now: we are preparing for the coming of Jesus into the world, into our lives. But the lectionary, on this rose sunday , has saved me.

3 I now have a game plan. When I was preparing my sermon, Today s Gospel made me aware of the paradox that exists in Advent, between the expectation to be still, to wait, and the overwhelming urge to take action, to do something to prepare for Jesus coming into the world. I was inspired by the Forth Gospel s portrayal of John. It differs from the Synoptic Gospels in that he is referred to as John the Baptist in the Synoptic Gospels and the forerunner of Jesus in the Forth Gospel. We read that he came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.

4 In Today s Gospel, we don t spend a lot of time reading how neurotic John was, we simply see him as a maverick preacher who made the religious establishment nervous, so nervous that they sent a party out to interrogate him. Who are you? they asked. Now John was a lot like Jesus. He had a tendency of never answering a question directly. He responded that he was not the Messiah. Then they asked him if he was Elijah or the prophet. You see, Elijah and Moses were two key figures in Hebrew Scripture: Elijah, because he was transported into heaven without dying (2 Kings 2:11), and; Moses, because he led the people of Israel to the promised land (Deut.)

5 18:15). Jewish scholars expected one of them to announce the coming of the Messiah. To this question, John simply answered, no. 2 Finally they pleaded with him to give them something they could take back to the religious establishment. So John quoted Isaiah, saying, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. (Isaiah 40:3). By that, he was referring to how ancient people prepared for a king to visit their village. They would make the wind-blown, sandy roads through the desert straight for such an important visitor.

6 With that, John s interrogators focused on the question of John s authority to minister and WHY he was baptizing Jews. Clearly John did not receive that authority from Jerusalem. John s response was to present himself as a man so low in stature that he was not worthy to do the task of a servant, to undo the sandal of his master. He came to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. That s who John was in the Forth Gospel. This Gospel begs the questions: Who are we? How do we identify ourselves in this world? Do we testify to the light?

7 In this season of Advent, this season of waiting for the light, my game plan is to prepare for the coming of Jesus by testifying to the light so that others might believe through me. So if you are like me, and can t seem to get yourself in a waiting mode, or if you simply haven t begun your Advent preparation, I invite you to join me in modeling John s ministry in our lives. Now I m not suggesting that we run out and get camel hair coats. Cashmere will do. And I m not suggesting that we eat locusts and honey, although our diets could probably use a little attention after the holidays.

8 I am suggesting that we, as disciples of Christ, be that we testify to the light, so that others might believe through us. How, you might ask, can we do that? Well, we could begin by telling others about this wonderful community and how we care for each another so that we can care for others. We could actually add the word, God to our secular vocabularies and use it from time to time to communicate that he is a part of our lives. We could even talk about the difference faith makes in our lives. 3 If you re not quite ready for that .. yet, you might consider letting people know who you are by the way you live your lives, the way you treat others, all others.

9 In other words, if you re not comfortable preaching the Gospel, you can simply live it. Share the wealth. Invite friends and neighbors to our Christmas services. When I was interning in Georgetown there was a lady in my congregation who was much sought after by social climbers. Her name was Frida and she was the grand dame of Georgetown society. She made a practice of inviting socially ambitious women to lunch on Sundays. When they agreed she would tell them that they would go to services first. She brought more newcomers into the parish than anyone I have ever known.

10 We can all witness to the light and we can do it as we carry out our day-to-day activities. I know this because, as it is written in Isaiah (61:1-4): The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord s favor. That s who we are, my belove. Amen.