The Third Sunday of Advent --- 17 December 2017

John 1:6-8, 19-28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said.  Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."  This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

·       The delegation sent to inquire about John the Baptizer wants an answer. The answer they receive will help them and the ones who sent them decide what to do with John and how to react to what he’s doing and what he’s teaching.

·       But that’s not what they really want. What they really want is an answer that fits the categories they’ve already prepared. They don’t seem to want to know who John really is; they want to know what pigeon-hole they can file him away in, especially since they’ve defined the categories and lined up the pigeon holes.

·       False prophets they can have stoned. False messiahs they can handle; they can always get Rome to help with that. They will decide who the real messiah is since they have set the prerequisites, and all the candidates had better toe the line. It’s as if they were saying “We’ll tell you who you can be in our narrative, since that lets us control you.”

·       To these powers-that-be control is far more important than a fresh message about the mercy of God, or compassion, or justice. All that mushy stuff is too hard to quantify, too hard to set in a balance sheet.

·       The delegation and the committee or group that sent them has forgotten an important point, namely that God is in charge rather than them.

·       To their credit, the people who sent this delegation of priests and Levites desired to keep their religion pure. They didn’t want some strange influence meddling with the people of God and some heretical beliefs splintering the people of God.

·       What they forgot in their desire for purity and perfection was the fact that God does not look or act like them and often does not have the same outward values. They made the mistake so often made in matters of faith: they took themselves as the example of what is best and judging all others by the standard they based on them.

·       We can see from John’s answers (“I am not the messiah… nor Elijah… nor the prophet. "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness”) In effect, he is saying that he is the unexpected voice that announces the words they’ve all known for years and years. He goes on to say further mysterious and confusing things about the one who is yet to be revealed.

·       We might wonder how all this was received by the delegation and those who sent them, especially if they had already decided what John was to be.

·       Do we have our own pre-conceived categories, pigeon-holes, or ready files? I’m sure I have and I still do. I won’t presume to speak for you.

·       The truth is that God will not fit our notions and ideas. There is always more to God than we can perceive or understand. It’s even been said that the Scriptures reveal God to us, but only what is needed for salvation and not everything about God in every aspect. Quite often, when we think we have everything about God figured out, something teaches us that we are not even close to having everything figured out.

·       This is not necessarily a bad thing. To be reminded that there will always be mystery about God and that we are not complete in our knowledge of the world and creation, let alone of God, lets us remember that we are and remain creatures created by God who stand in the created world and remain in awe of all that God has done and all that God is.

·       Paul advises the Thessalonian Christians that they should Rejoice always. We could say that as well, even if we do it through tears. We can rejoice that God remains in control and not our fallible and limited selves. None of us is God and none of us is in control of God. There are still surprises in store… and not just on Christmas morning. God will always be more than we can imagine or understand and God will neither dance to our tune or be confined to our categories.

Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"