Advent 3B
December 13, 2020
Grace, Waseca, MN
John 1.6-8, 19-28
One of the things I miss most about not gathering in-person for worship is singing together. What a joy to be surrounded by the various voices, praising God, and testifying to God’s love. I miss the beautiful harmonizing of the choir, Cornerstone, HHB and other gifted musicians at Grace. I even miss people like me who unabashedly “make a joyful noise to the Lord” and don’t flinch doing it. Whether we are in tune or out, whether on the beat or slightly off, we confess God’s faithfulness together with our voices.
Maybe that’s one of many reasons I love the Bible, for its various voices, some of which sound slightly off-key. Our lessons today are a chorus of such voices giving witness to God through Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah proclaims good news to a weary people, promising a “mantle of praise” for them to wear. In his letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul encourages rejoicing, continual prayer, and unending gratitude for a similarly weary people who are discouraged because Jesus has not returned as they had hoped. And then the psalmist talks about mouths filled with laughter and joy because the Lord has delivered them from some danger.
Then, of course, we have John. I have to admit that, as I looked at this Gospel reading, I groaned, “Not John again!” Why is it that John the Baptizer gets two (half) of the four Sundays of Advent? That’s especially aggravating since we seem to have another version of Mark’s story from last week. But, as I worked with the text (and remembered that John is my favorite Gospel) I came to appreciate the different perspective John brings to us and to Jesus as the light.
This John whom we know as “The Baptizer,” is here instead declared as “The Witness.” The Gospel goes to great lengths to make sure we know that John is not the Messiah, the Light that shines in the darkness, but is a voice in the wilderness that points and testifies to the Light. The word, “witness” and its variations appear over 50 times in this Gospel. And though witness often relates to what Jesus has done, it more often describes who Jesus is and what he means to us.
It is tempting to be another voice that encourages you to confess, bear witness and testify to Jesus as the Light. Yet, during a time of year when we are especially overwhelmed with doing, or not doing as the case may be, I want to assure you that you are already a part of the earthly chorus giving voice to God’s love. There is no choir that will have me as a member, for good reason, but because of my baptism there is no church that can refuse the presence of my voice, however articulated. Nor will yours be refused, either.
I do want to invite you, as you revel in beautifully rendered songs, to listen for the voices that are singing just slightly differently, like John the Witness, who consider a different view of God than you might be used to. It is very often those who stretch our musical and theological imaginations that help us grow in understanding of God’s love through Jesus. Meanwhile, “Arise, Your Light Has Come,” as we witness together in song, the Light of the World. Amen.
