Messages, Meditations, and Musings on the Life of Faith by Rev. Dr. Scott E. Olson, Interim Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Preston, MN

Sunday, December 31, 2017

"Are You Anybody? Pointing to Jesus, Part 1" Sermon for the First Sunday of Christmas

Are You Anybody? Pointing to Jesus, Part 1
Christmas 1 – Narrative Lectionary 4
December 31, 2017
Grace, Mankato, MN
John 1.19-34

Jeffrey Tambor is an accomplished actor whose career spans over four decades. Some of you might know him from the TV shows Transparent, Arrested Development, and The Larry Sanders Show. I’ve known his work most recently from The Good Wife. This past May, Tambor published a memoir called, Are You Anybody. It is based on an experience he had leaving the theater after his first Broadway performance, in which he had a meager six lines. As he exited the stage door, he was asked by an autograph collector, “Are you anybody?” When it was obvious Tambor wasn’t, the hound scurried to the next theater. Though I haven’t read all of the book, from what I’ve read and heard, Tambor discusses his insecurity and drive to excel in a difficult profession. Later, when he has “arrived” and signs his first autograph, he describes the emptiness that follows.

“Are you anybody?” is a question that runs throughout our text for today. Last Sunday we began our foray into the Jesus story through the Gospel of John with what is known as the Prologue, that poetic passage that describes the preexistent and incarnate Word. The Word has been present from the very beginning of creation and breaks into human history by becoming flesh. We heard that John the Baptist came to give testimony to the light, but is not himself the light. Today, as that assertion gets unpacked, we see something that will carry throughout the gospel. This story is full of questions and you would do well to pay attention them each week as we go along. The question today is aimed at the Baptist: “Who are you?” or we could say, “Are you anybody?” It seems that the Baptizer has stirred up a lot of interest with the baptisms and his message of preparation. For some, these are acts that herald the end of time and consummation of all things.

The question “Are you anybody” points to a need that people have had for a savior or deliverer throughout history. Joseph Campbell calls it the quest for “the hero” and finds a recurring pattern in societies. The hero was often born in obscurity and unaware of his or her identity until a crisis arises. For you JRR Tolkien fans, think of Strider/Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. The Jews of the first century were certainly looking for a hero Messiah to deliver them from the Roman oppression. Though there were diverse opinions of whom this might be, many thought it would be a warrior king in the vein of King David. But, the Baptizer catches them off guard by saying, “I’m not anybody” and then, “He’s not what you think.”

NT scholar Thomas Slater agrees with Campbell that Jesus fits the hero quest motif, but changes the term to “secret savior.” He does so to highlight the fact that the one who delivers us from a crisis is not the one we’d expect to do so. When the Baptizer calls Jesus the Lamb of God, he confuses those looking for the Messiah; this was not a term previously applied to the Messiah. In effect, John says, “I’m not anybody except for the fact that I’m pointing to the ‘Somebody.’” This “Somebody” is going to do far more than you hope for and in a totally unexpected way. With the image of the Lamb, the Baptizer is alluding to the Passover and intimates that Jesus will deliver humanity from estrangement.

So, what’s the point of all this? Well, Slater goes on to say that unfortunately instead of the secret savior who comes unexpectedly, we tend to seek an “obvious operator” who is “large and in charge.” We do so with a huge set of expectations that must be met, but which ultimately lead to disappointment. We look for saviors in all the wrong places, not the least of which is in our elected officials, regardless of political affiliation.

As we hear the Baptizer’s testimony today, pointing us to Jesus, we would do well to remember that Jesus regularly breaks our expectations of him and saves us in ways we can’t imagine. So I invite you, sisters and brothers in Christ, to prepare for the unexpected arrival of Jesus by making a straight path in your hearts. For through God’s grace anybody can receive him. Amen.

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