Text: John 1: 19-34

Welcome to the gospel of John. From now until Easter we’ll be spending time with this most poetic, most enigmatic gospel.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are very similar to each other. We call them the Synoptic gospels because of their similarities. Synoptic is a fancy word meaning “taking or involving a comprehensive mental view”. It comes from the same Greek root as our words synonym and synopsis. Those of you who have studied with me will remember our discussion of “Q”- the mysterious missing source document that contains the stories (the comprehensive mental view, if you will) that tie the Synoptic gospels together.

John isn’t burdened by “Q”. The best description I’ve heard of John is that it seems to have been written by an apostle sitting on a hillside under a tree – which is probably closer to reality than you’d think. Tradition holds that John wrote his gospel while in exile on the Greek island of Patmos.

This highly reflective view can be seen in the opening verses. John isn’t concerned about Jesus birth. For him it isn’t important where Jesus was born, who his earthly parents were, or whether the conception was immaculate. Here’s how his gospel starts:

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

What was important to John was that Jesus was with God and from God, God incarnate.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

I remember the year that my father decided to hand-make our Christmas cards. He got a block of wood and carved a manger scene in it. Below the scene he carved the phrase “and the word became flesh”. We then proceeded to spread ink on the block and stamp the impression on pieces of construction paper. I don’t know if it was the simple beauty of the finished product, or the fact that carving that block was so far outside the norm for dad, or the phrase itself, or maybe all three; but that card is the only one I remember from my youth. And every time I encounter the first chapter of John I remember that Christmas card.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

From the very beginning John is clear about who Jesus is and what it means for him to be brought to life among us. Welcome to John.

Today we pick up the story five verses later in verse 19 with another John.

Strangely this is not a story about Jesus baptism. There are two scenes depicted in today’s text. In the first scene John is defending his credentials as a baptizer. His name “John the Baptist” should have been a clue. Apparently not. Anyway in this scene he talks about “the one who will come after” so we (I) have always assumed that means the baptism hasn’t happened yet.

But the second scene tells a different story. That scene opens with the words “The next day “ (John is big on identifying these kinds of temporal relationships.) But as the scene unfolds the text is clear that the baptism has already happened.

From verse 31:

31. I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32. And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.

33. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

34. And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Everything here is past tense; “…I saw the Spirit descending…”, “…I myself have seen…”. Clearly the baptism has already happened at this point. Like Jesus’ birth, John isn’t so much interested in the event as in the meaning behind the event. And our task today is to set aside our preconceptions and tease out that meaning.

So if we aren’t talking about Jesus’ baptism today, what are we talking about? I think the scholars who gave us this lectionary text on the Sunday after Christmas want us to focus on John, and how he was prepared to see Jesus. Here are some thoughts about that.

How was John prepared/worthy to see Jesus?

Apparently Jesus doesn’t wear a nametag.

Remember that John the Baptist and Jesus were related, possibly cousins. So it is reasonable to assume that they knew each other as children. They probably traveled with their families to the temple together and may have even played together during visits between their parents. We know next to nothing about Jesus early life but what we do know tells us that Jesus was not afraid of engaging in scholarly discussion with the temple priests. It seems strange that John would have been ignorant of the fact that his cousin was anything but normal. And yet that appears to be the case.

Anticipation

So how was John prepared so “see” Jesus? Was it the diet of locusts and wild honey? The camel’s hair suit? The life of isolation in the wilderness? I suspect not (which is good news for us). You know where this is headed, right? The next question is going to be; “How do we prepare to ‘see’ Jesus?” And like John I suspect that the first step in our preparation is anticipation. John anticipated that he would encounter Jesus. When confronted by the priests and Levites John is clear; I’m not the messiah. He’s coming after me. I’m here to prepare the way for him.

We should make that our song in the coming year.

We’re not the messiah. He’s coming after us. We’re here to prepare the way for him.

I’m not the messiah.

That sounds easy to say, but it’s much harder to live. We like to be in control. We like to have our opinions matter. We like to think that we have all the answers. And yet in our heart of hearts we know that none of that is true. Life is tentative, often tragically out of control. We are fallible and often deluded.

So as painful as it often is, we need to admit to ourselves that we are not the Messiah. He’s coming after us. Our calling is not to be him, but to prepare the way for him.

John offers little in the way of clues about how we can ‘prepare the way for him’. In verse 23 he quotes Isaiah 40:

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’.”

In this quote, and in the other gospels where John calls out “you brood of vipers” (John is really very gentle in his treatment of the priests and Levites.) he focuses on the cultural shortcomings he sees around him. Listen to his words recorded in the third chapter of Luke:

8. Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

9. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10. And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”

11. In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”

12. Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

13. He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”

14. Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

These are just a few examples of how we can prepare the way for Christ’s return. But in them you see a theme. We live in a time and a culture that is often pointed in the wrong direction.

We are told that something can never be fully appreciated if it is given and can only be truly appreciated if it is earned.

“Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none…”

“Whoever has food must do likewise.”

We are told that taxes are too high and we must reduce them and fund the reduction by domestic programs.

“Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”

This one is interesting.

He doesn’t say, “stop collecting taxes.” Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “Don’t pay taxes.” Rather, the focus is always on fair and equitable participation in the funding of, and benefits received from government.

We are told that being rich is evidence of successful living and those who are poor are that way because it’s their own fault

“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

In these seven verses John calls the people, and he calls us to task, the task of changing our hearts, of “bearing fruits worthy of repentance”, of preparing the way for the Messiah.

I’m not the messiah. He’s coming after me. I’m here to prepare the way for him.

The first step is anticipation. If you expect to see Jesus you just might recognize him – even without the nametag.

Groundwork

The second clue is in the laying of the groundwork. John lived in the wilderness and ate locusts and wild honey.

I’d suggest there’s an easier way for us.

We study. Read your Bible, every day. Make it a habit.

We pray, often; another habit.

We gather with our community. Is a pot luck supper an act of preparation? You bet it is. So, too, is a PW gathering, and a house church meeting, and men’s breakfast, and even worship this morning. Every time we gather as community we are engaging in acts of preparation, laying the groundwork for seeing Jesus.

Back to prayer for a moment. Every afternoon at 3:00 an alarm on my cell phone reminds me that it’s time to pray for peace. It’s a small thing, but it’s an important practice – to stop and turn my focus away from the cares and the rush of the day and turn my face toward God with a petition to bring peace to my heart, to my relationships, to our community, our country, our world. For 2018 I invite you to join me in this practice. If you have better discipline than I do you won’t need technology to remind you. But if you’re like me and find such discipline beyond your grasp the alarm on your phone can help – call you to prayer as it were. And if you’d like some help setting up your phone to remind you I’ll be glad to help – or you could check with your friendly neighborhood Junior High School student who will have it done before you finish describing what you need.

Placement

The third clue is how John placed himself in a position where he was likely to encounter Jesus. And again, I’m not suggesting that we hang out next to the river Jordan, eat locusts and all that. My suggestion runs much closer to home. We also engage in acts of preparation when we reach out beyond our doors. Whenever we encounter those in our society who are vulnerable – children, refugees, those who are aged or homeless or pushed to the margins of society; whenever we encounter such as these we place ourselves in a position where we are likely to encounter Jesus. Make no mistake about it. When Jesus does return he won’t be found in the Vatican or the temple in Salt Lake City or even the National Cathedral in Washington DC. He won’t even be found at Southminster. He will be found among the same people he ministered to 2000 years ago; the sick and the lame and the blind, the lepers of society. If we want to see Jesus that’s where we’ll need to be.

So there you have it:

Anticipation

I’m not the messiah. He’s coming after me. I’m here to prepare the way for him.

Groundwork

Study, Pray, Gather together.

Placement

Reach beyond our doors. Be found among those pushed to the margins of our society. It’s all that easy and it’s all that hard.

And don’t be surprised when Jesus does show up; because he will. And when you see the spirit descend and remain, even on someone you least expect you will know that you have been truly blessed.

Amen.