Advent 4 - Rorate Coeli - 12-20-09

Advent 4, Midweek
One Year Lectionary - Rorate Coeli
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (December 20, 2009)

“Confess Freely”

Readings:
Psalm 111
Dt. 18:15-19
Philippians 4:4-7
John 1:19-28

Sermon Form: Deductive

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel reading of St. John the 1st chapter, especially the following verses.

John 1:19-28

19Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." 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 desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.' " 24 Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, 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.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

By most accounts, if we were to run into John the Baptist we would consider him to be quite different. Living out in the wilderness, eating grasshoppers and honey? We can only wonder what the neighbors of his parents were thinking. For, John the Baptist was born the son of Zechariah a Priest, from the linage of King David and his mother Elizabeth who was of the linage of Aaron, both of these royal lines. And scripture tells us that John’s parents, “were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.”(Luke 1:6) John the Baptist surely did not resemble the priestly family from which he was born. But though John’s wardrobe and eating habits might be a bit confusing, John’s message was clear, for He freely confessed, “I am not the Christ.”(v.20)

Many times people confuse the looks Church with what they see when they come to church. Sometimes it is a harmless thing. And truthfully some of what they see and hear is the Church, and sometimes some of it is not. The Church is not marked by the accuracy of how we sing. Some Sundays our singing is full and sweet, and other times it is thin and a just a little wobbly. And, some people might confuse the pastor with the message, meaning while a pastor is called to be a faithful bearer of the message, the pastor is not the message. The Word of God is the message which the Pastor proclaims, but those words do not belong to him. If you look around the church you may see people who you know very well and others whom you do not know well at all. But truthfully every single person needs the Word of God and to hear the Word of God and His forgiveness, so that we can live out each and every day.

It is important that we do not confuse what we see, with that which is greater. It is also important that we do not confuse ourselves for something or someone whom we are not. And our text is a good illustration of both confusing one thing with another, and as an example of how not to permit that confusion to gain a foothold.

For example in our Gospel lesson, they came to John. Who is this they? It is the Priests and the Levites, sent by his enemies. They were looking for some way to shut John up. They didn't like what he preached. He preached sin and repentance. No one likes to hear about sin. And no one wants hear or to be told that they need to repent. Just who does this John the Baptist think he is?!! The priests and the Levites were confident that their religion was what they said it was, and that church was what they said it should be, and church should be they way that it has always been, the Good News John preached was no news they wanted to hear. So they really needed to shut John down.

And the way they chose to undermine John the Baptist was to challenge his authority. Are you the Christ? John confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.”(v.20) Well, then who are you, they asked, Are you the Prophet? Because they expected a prophet before the Messiah. Moses had promised that God would raise up a prophet just like him, one who spoke to God as a man speaks to a friend, face to face. And Moses was Aaron’s brother, and ironically he would be a great ancestor of John. Again, the right family background for the greatest prophet of all times! So, if John were the prophet, would he then have the authority to be in this ministry out in the wilderness? So they asked John, are you the prophet? John answered, "No." John knew he was not here to preach about himself. John, knew that it was his duty to preach about the one who was greater than himself, to preach about Jesus Christ.

And part of preaching Christ is preaching the whole counsel of God. Meaning preaching both the Law & the Gospel. The Law is preached because it is the Word of God, because it is true and it because it is still applicable to you and me. Preaching repentance is preaching the Law to those who refuses to acknowledge their sin. If we do not face our sins and repent, then forgiveness is meaningless. If we are not confronted by our total corruption in sin, there is no way we can fathom or treasure our forgiveness. If we do not confess our sins, then we sin by confessing we are above sin. If we are not crushed by our guilt, we will not be able to delight in our forgiveness won by Jesus Christ on the Cross. If you cannot bear to hear the Law, to hear that we are all sinners, and that we sin daily by thought word and deed, then you do not believe in the Law. And quite frankly, that is what some want to hear at church, a warm fuzzy Jesus, who does not judge anyone by their sins. And if that is the Jesus we believe in, then not only do we not believe the Law, we don’t believe the Gospel either.

But the Law and Gospel do go together, in fact they are inseparable. For if we say we have no sin, then we have no need for a preacher crying out to the wilderness of our minds. And if we have no need to repent and confess our sins, then the warm fuzzy Jesus will do us no good either.

Do not disparage John the Baptist for his cry for our repentance, he only preaches what the scriptures have told him. And those scriptures tell us that humanity will always fail in any attempt to make themselves righteous, that is innocent before God. Only the one who comes after John can make us innocent. Only the one who wears the sandals John could not tie, frees you from your own thoughts, deeds, and actions. It is Jesus Christ who will confess your name before His father when you reach the final judgment. It is only Jesus Christ who could live the Law which we cannot live. And the final Law is when death overcomes us, we all will be judged for every single deed and misdeed. The Gospel is that in the final judgment God looks not at us but to Jesus Christ who declares us innocent. In Christ we receive the greater baptism in which we die to sin and have His Name placed upon our foreheads. It is Christ who gives us His body and He sheds His blood for us. It is Christ who was, is, and shall ever be the one has come to give us eternal salvation.

John the Baptist knew He was not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor was He a prophet. But John proclaimed the Messiah would come, and He has indeed. Jesus Christ has come, and He not fail to confess but will confess freely your name before His Father in heaven. And upon Christ’s confession you will see the Gospel, which is eternal life. Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

AMEN
+SDG+