Thoughts going in, Sunday December 14th, Advent 3

John 1:6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 19 Now this was John's testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Messiah." 21 They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." 22 Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself ?" 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.' " 24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26 "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." 28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

            This Sunday marks the THIRD week in our Advent journey, and there are some fairly neat things going on this week. First, while some may find it a little confusing, I want to mention that the gospel reading we have for this week includes portions of the HISTORIC gospel of the day. What I mean is, for several hundred years the church was on a 1-year series of readings, but since the 1960s we've been on a 3-year series. It's generally thought that the 3-year series is superior because it allows for more of the Bible to be read in the worship services of the church. Regardless, the gospel for the old 1-year series for the 3rd Sunday of Advent was John 1:19-23...and in year B of the 3-year series (our present year) the gospel selection is quite similar.

Ok, great. What else? Well, since the gospel reading is about the same, it's interesting to look back at some of those themes and markers that were present in the old 1-year series. For instance, the collect of the day: Incline thine ear to our prayers we beseech thee, O Lord; and enlighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of thy visitation. Who livest, etc. Concerning the historic collects of Advent, the 3rd week's was the only departure from the "stir up" collects.

            Ok, again, great... what else? Well, this is also "pink candle" Sunday. The kids are usually pretty quick to notice that one of the candles in the Advent wreath is a different color from the rest. Pink. Why pink? Well, it makes the day stand out among the rest. It was called Gaudete Sunday--again, from the old series--because the introit of the day was taken from Philippians where St. Paul begins: Gaudete in Domino semper...or in the English REJOICE in the Lord always. So, Gaudete Sunday was REJOICE SUNDAY. Why rejoice? Because the somewhat penitential season of Advent is now HALF OVER. There's a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. We're almost there.

            But to build on this a little... it's not a "rejoice because this unpleasant experience is almost over" sort of thing. It is rather a matter of rejoicing over our present circumstance as well.

Back to the gospel reading, John makes an interesting statement in vss 26-27. He says: I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. Let that one percolate in your mind for a bit. According to the scene in this gospel, John the Baptist is addressing a whole group of people; Jesus is among them right now; this very day, but they don't realize it and they don't recognize him for who he is. Enlighten the darkness of our minds...the old collect says.

            It's a sad fact of our sinful state that the Lord could be standing right in front of us and we'd miss him because our minds are so darkened with other stuff that we either don't care or just aren't looking for him. Thankfully God has not left us helpless. The original forerunner, John the Baptist, was sent... in the spirit of Elijah & Isaiah and all the prophets of old. And today we have God's word which is "living and powerful, sharper than any 2-edged sword" to point the way for us.

            This Advent may we be reminded to LOOK FOR CHRIST in all of the areas he's told us he can be found: among the children; with the sick and dying; in the Divine Service, the worship life of the Church; in his Word the Bible, and in the holy sacraments. HE'S THERE among us, just as he was standing there among the crowd that day on the banks of the Jordan. And let us REJOICE at the fact that 2000 years has already gone by, the end of all things is closer now than ever. He could return today! REJOICE!

Cheers,

TM