1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28
John the Baptizer Witness
Today’s Gospel reading is quite similar to last week’s
story from Mark about John the Baptizer. Except this week John the author puts
John the Baptist in a different role. Yes, John baptizes people, but this
ministry is more in the background to his real purpose. In today’s reading, we find
John engaging in a back-and-forth conversation with the Pharisees.
Who are you? Are you the messiah? … No.
Who are you? Are you Elijah? … No.
Who are you? Are you the prophet? … No.
Who are you? … I am the voice crying in the
wilderness.
Then why are you here? … I have been sent to prepare
the way for the one who is to come. I, myself, am not worthy to stoop down to untie
his sandals.
… The focus in John’s Gospel is how Jesus is the Son-of-God.
John the Baptizer is important as the Witness to the coming of Jesus into their
midst. I’m going to refer to John the Baptizer as John the Witness today, to
help us see how important this role of witnessing is.
Some speculate that Jesus had been one of John the
Witness’s disciples, but that is not clear here in John’s Gospel. John the
Witness doesn’t state that he knows who this “one” is, only that he is declaring
that the “one” is coming. If Jesus has been with John, then he likely has
recognized God’s powerful presence in Jesus, and knows Jesus is the one he is
announcing here.
It’s also important to note
that John the Witness doesn’t baptize Jesus in John’s Gospel. He is named as
one who baptizes, but there is no story of John baptizing Jesus. It may have
happened, but there is no story about it. It wasn’t important to John the
author. This is another reminder that each author tells the story in their own
way, emphasizing what is important to them and for their audience.
In many medieval paintings of the crucifixion, John
the Witness is present. When he is there, he is usually shown pointing at Jesus,
witnessing to Jesus beyond death.
… Paul writes encouraging the Thessalonians to remain
faithful. They should pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances,
and in this way witness to Jesus.
There are many who believe that the line in Paul’s
letter, “pray without ceasing” means to devote oneself to prayer 24/7. This
belief has led to the establishment of monastic communities, where the siblings
gather up to 7 times a day for prayer.
Instead, I believe it means to be so aware of the good
things God has given us, that our daily activities are all done with the
recognition that God is present at all times. When we work, our desire can be
that those who purchase our product, or receive our email, or pay their bills,
or grade our papers, will be blessed. Our kindness in answering an email or phone
call or text goes a long way to spread the news that God reigns in our hearts. In
our lives, then, we are witnessing to Jesus without saying a word, and we’re
doing it all day long.
That doesn’t mean we don’t ever have to say Jesus’
name in public, of course. If we never say “Jesus”, people won’t know whom we
worship and serve. Witnessing happens when we pray a thanksgiving for our meal
in a restaurant. Witnessing happens when we say “God bless you” to someone who
needs such simple good news. Witnessing happens when we invite someone to an
activity at ULC. Witnessing happens when we hand a bag of snack food and water to
a hungry person.
… Witnessing happens when we welcome everyone, especially those who are not always welcome. Witnessing happens when we accept that younger people don’t do things the way we used to do them. Witnessing happens when we tell someone that we will pray for them.
Witnessing happens every time we show God’s love to
someone. Witnessing happens when we place our offering in the basket or mail it
to the church or the synod or Lutheran World Relief or the school in Haiti.
Mostly, witnessing happens when we tell a person who
doesn’t know God that God loves them. People who don’t know about church have
no idea that Jesus is about love and forgiveness and acceptance. Many people today
weren’t taken to church as children, so they have no concept of what church is,
what belonging to a church family can do for them, and with them.
People who belong to churches with lots of rules don’t
know that God doesn’t care as much about rules as they have been led to
believe. Even people who believe in Jesus need us to help them remember that
Jesus loves and welcomes them just as they are. That is witnessing.
… It was almost 75 years ago, in 1949, that people began
gathering in Gainesville to plant a Lutheran church and student center at the
University. The goal was to witness to the community, and especially to the
students, with the Lutheran understanding of Jesus. By 1951, there was a Sunday
school, a women’s group, and an active student group. One of the first tasks,
after a building was located for the new church, was to find an organ. I suppose
students of that day appreciated organ music and traditional worship.
By the ‘60s and ‘70’s, folk services were extremely
popular. I know Chicago Folk Service well because it was attractive to students
and young adults of my time. It was a great way to witness to students, with
its then-radical lyrics and music.
In the past, campus ministry was like Sunday School
for college students. It is so different today that we need to begin by finding
out what students do want or need, and then seek to provide it. The
question for us today is, if we want to continue doing campus ministry: what
does it look like? And what do we need to do to make it happen? How do we
witness to students today in a way that makes sense to them and gives them the
opportunity to draw closer to God?
I invite you this week to be aware of opportunities to
witness to Jesus. He is the one who is coming, just now as a baby, but soon as
a teacher and healer, and crucified and risen one. How do you share that good
news with someone else? As Paul says, when Spirit is urging you to speak up, “Don’t
quench the Spirit!” by remaining silent. Amen
