We are not the Messiah

John 1:1-8

        John the Baptist was the opening act for Jesus.  His job was to warm up the audience so when the main attraction appeared, every one would be excited and ready to jump right into the first song.  Being the warm-up band is a thankless job.  Nobody pays their hard earned money to see YOU.  Only family members and few close friends have ever heard the songs you are about to sing.  And the crazy thing is, if you are actually good, the headliner will get someone else.  Opening acts must never outshine the star.

        So imagine how John must have felt?  He was opening for his baby cousin.  It wasn’t like John couldn’t make it on his own.  He had developed a loyal band of followers who were quite happy to chase him into the wilderness and dine on his peculiar diet of bugs and honey.  Folks came from near and far to hear John preach sermons that only Jonathan Edwards could love.  But the Baptizer knew his role.  He was the opening act.  He was the guy that would forever be known as the one who joyfully proclaimed, “Heeeeeer’s Jesus.”

        I wonder if John ever became confused?  I wonder if he got jealous?  We know John had quite a following.  Many remained loyal to him, even after Jesus arrived. John could have easily started his own movement.  He would not have been the first nor the last to claim the mantle of Messiah.  But John stood firm.  From birth he had been the forerunner.  His purpose was to announce that God’s joy would soon cascade down on a people in darkness.  We could sure use a voice like that today.

        I was with my grandkids for a couple days this week. Grandchildren can quickly move us from the realities of this world into a never-never-land that is really quite pleasant. Siddalee has never heard of ISIS. Austin’s world revolves around Minions and Luke Skywalker wannabes.   But Andy has turned eight. While 90 percent of his thoughts revolve around the plight of the Carolina Panthers, he is becoming very aware of the world that surrounds him. During a break on one of our bike rides, out of the blue he asked, “Granddaddy, if Donald Trump becomes President, will we have to leave America?”

        One thing you can be sure of during a Presidential Election is a lot of promises are going to be made. Some inspire us, some give us hope, some cause us to flinch and then the occasional words are uttered which causes folk older than eight to shake their heads in utter disbelief. Basically every candidate has a different way of attempting to say the same thing. They want us to believe they are the next great hope by promising peace and prosperity to a world dominated by despair. We pick our guy and desperately want to believe he or she is The ONE. Why? Because we long for a word of joy from one who will dispel the darkness. Unfortunately, when we take a long hard look at the folks running for messiah, we know deep down in our heart of hearts no one person can bring an end to the chaos that dominates our lives. We long for harmony, a condition this world has seldom known. We long for stability, a dream only perfected by those who dominate. We long for peace, a concept which finds its way into many songs but is seldom sung by those trusting coexistence over power.  We long for a Messiah with an agenda that fits our eye. But perhaps what we actually need is another John the Baptist, although I am not sure we would tolerate the emergence of one whose favorite word was “Repent.”

        John was born into a world not unlike ours because John was born into a culture remarkably similar to every other culture in any other moment in history. John was born into a world where insurgents desired to overthrow the powerful and the powerful declared the insurgents to be terrorist. John was born into a world in which one percent controlled ninety percent of the wealth and an Empire that had already seen its better days. John  was born into a world of refugees, revolutionaries, reformist, and traditionalist each with a different plan to transform their own particular definition of chaos while never giving an inch to those they feared. Is it any wonder the only word John dared to utter was “Repent.” There could be no hope until there was a new beginning. Furthermore, what good is a Messiah if no one is willing to engage in some serious self-evaluation?

        At my last church we had a children’s after school program called Second Wednesday.   During the Christmas Season, I began the program by gathering all children round an Advent Wreath in the fellowship hall.  Before I lit the candles, I asked the children what we called each candle.  They looked at me as if I had lost my mind. So I gently reminded them that the candles represented Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. I asked them to repeat the words with me, Hope, Peace, Joy and Love; Hope Peace Joy and Love. When I thought they had it, I then lit the candles and asked those small children what we really wanted for Christmas. Right on cue they all said, Hope, Peace, Joy, Love. I knew they were just repeating what they had been told, but I can’t tell you what a sweet song they sung.

After the opening we divided the children by age and they scampered off in different directions to crafts, recreation, puppets or The Bible Story.  The youngest group always did the Bible Story first. I wanted to get them when I had a chance of still holding their attention.  We went into the sanctuary and reenacted the Christmas story.  After the wise men had made their way to the stable, I asked the children what they were going to give Jesus for Christmas.  They gave me a startled look.  One of them even asked, “Why would we give Jesus a gift?”  I responded, “Christmas is his birthday.”   Well if there is one universal truth known among children it is when you are invited to a birthday party, you better bring a gift.  For the next couple of minutes I was given a tremendous list, most of which reflected what they hoped was waiting for them under their tree back home. So I asked them to think of what JESUS might desire. One of the little kings said, “I will give him my gold.”  I asked, “And how much gold do you have?”  He shook his head, a bit confused. One of the other children rescued the awkward moment by quietly saying, “I will give him hope.”  Then another said, “I will give him peace.”  And another added, “I will give him joy.”   Then they all concluded by saying, “We will give him love.”    In those words, the children became John the Baptist, and I was transformed by their proclamation.

My friends, in this season of Christmas, our job is not to be the Messiah.  But we can become one who proclaims.  What proclamation, what gift, might we offer to a world dominated by chaos? Our self appointed messiahs interject solutions that include words like “Bomb”, or “Isolate”, or even “Assimilate”. Are those actions that have found success or desperate measures that insure deeper resentment?

 The language of Christmas begins with the word “Repent”. Without repentance, how can there possibly be any hope or peace or joy or love beyond our carefully framed characterization of what we desire the world to be. Without repentance, how can we possible recognize that we, in some small way, might be responsible for the chaos that causes us such great fear?

The writer of John wrote, “In the beginning was THE WORD.” Imagine typing this and putting WORD in the upper case. On the other hand John the Baptist used words (lower case) to proclaim THE WORD INCARNATE (upper case) Why? Because John was not THE WORD but rather the one who proclaimed THE WORD. And he did this by using the word, “Repent”. 

That might not have been the word you would have chosen. My small friends back in Clinton selected, “hope, peace, joy, and love”. Some of you might expand that list by offering, “compassion, justice, hospitality, forgiveness and reconciliation”. The world needs all these words but who among us perfectly embodies each of them. Remember, we are not the Messiah. But the ones call to proclaim. What if, in this year of 2016, each of us picked one godly word and did our godly best to live up to that word’s godly potential. It sounds impossible, and it is, unless you are willing to give it a try.

Let me offer an example. Let’s say you are a person who always sees the glass half empty or in other words you tend to be a bit of a pessimist. Imagine how you could brighten the world around you by living one year of your life hopefully.

Perhaps you tend to be a bit antagonistic. How would your world change if this year your goal was finding personal peace?

Maybe this year one of you could be a little more forgiving.

Maybe one of you could be a little more joyful.

What if one of you became a bit more compassionate, or generous, or even a bit more hospitable?

My gracious, let’s not stop there. Perhaps one of you could spend less time looking at the stock market and more time interested in economic justice.

Maybe one of you living in Stoney Creek could make a new friend of someone who lives in Afton, or one of you who lives in Faber could meet someone from Stoney Creek?

Pick One Word and make it yours.

Pick One Word and claim it for a year.

Remember, we aren’t THE WORD (upper case).

We can’t save the world but we can pick a word, and embrace the word and live the word and by doing so change who we are. Who knows what might happen next.        Amen.