“Who Is That?” – Sermon on Jan 19, 2014
January 19, 2014
Scriptures
Isaiah 49: 1-7: Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! God called me before my birth; from within the womb God called me by name. My words of judgment were made as sharp as a sword. God has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.
God said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory.” I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in your hand; I will trust God for my reward.” And now God speaks – the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back. God has honored me and has given me strength.
God says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” God, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations, to the one who is mere servant of rulers: “Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will also bow low because of God, the faithful one, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
John 1: 29-42 John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus. Jesus looked around and saw them following. He asked them, “What do you want?” They replied, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Jesus answered them, “Come and see.”
It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”).
Sermon: Who Is That?
by Rev. Doreen Oughton
Every year my sister hosts a family gathering on Christmas night. I come from a big family, and each year there are a few new faces, boyfriends or girlfriends of the kids, or relatives from the in-law sides. The family tends to be pretty good about introductions, and I always imagine how overwhelmed this new person must be by the introductions. So many new people, new faces, trying to figure out how people connect with one another – this is my cousin, this is this cousin’s mother, and the mother’s husband, and the uncle’s girlfriend and the brother-in-law. And then with so many people there, newcomer or patriarch, there is lots of talking. Sometimes I have to find a quiet place to collect myself. It can be overwhelming.
The scripture readings for this morning had a similar effect on me, and maybe you too. There are lots of people, lots of talking, several introductions. It can be a lot to figure out who is who, and how they all connect,and then, of course, how any of it connects to us.
In the first reading the main speaker is Isaiah, a prophet of the Lord. He calls out to the nation of Israel to report a conversation he had with God. He seems to be introducing, not God, but himself through God’s words. I can imagine the challenge he faces, asserting his authority, making the claim that he is truly a messenger of God – has the gifts, speaks the truth – and yet making it clear that it is not really about him. His words of judgment are not just his words, but words made sharp by God. His aim is not just whatever has caught his personal attention, but he is an arrow being shot by God. It is God who has given him a mission, and the strength to carry it out. He recognizes that without God, he is of no particular account. He is, he claims, despised and rejected by nations until God calls him. And that is quite an introduction, isn’t it.
And then we have the Gospel of John. This morning’s reading is from the first chapter of John, and the verses before these are full of introduction. This is the Gospel that begins at the beginning, with the Word who is God with God. We are then quickly introduced to John the Baptist, who, while important, is definitely not the light, but a witness to the light. We meet the Word made flesh in Jesus, from whom grace and truth come through, and he is contrasted with Moses, from whom the law came through. The introduction of Jewish priests and Levites provides more opportunities for John to say who he is not – not the Messiah, not Elijiah, not THE prophet, not worthy to untie the sandal of the light, the one who is coming after him. As Isaiah introduced himself in relation to God, so John the Baptist introduces himself in relation to Jesus.
And now, with this morning’s reading, it is time for John to introduce Jesus. “Here he is.. Lamb of God!” I wonder what that meant to those listening, lamb of God. Did it mean the same thing then as it does to us? I associate that phrase with the sacrifice Jesus made for us, but an important part of the call to follow Jesus is the promise of resurrection, not just the sacrifice. Anyway, John seems to know this is not enough of an introduction, because he keeps going. Like Isaiah he seems to need to establish his credentials to make the introduction, needs to say how he knows what he claims to know – that this IS the Messiah, THE prophet, the light. God, who had sent John out to baptize, told John to be on the lookout for the person on whom the Spirit descends. As opposed to the synoptic Gospels, we don’t know when this happened, whether Jesus had been baptized by John, whether Jesus even knew the Spirit had descended. In this gospel we get no dramatic scene of the Spirit descending, no voice from heaven claiming, “this is my beloved, in whom I am well-pleased.” We just have John’s word that God told him what to look for, and John indeed witnessed what God had tipped him off to, an that Jesus, that man walking by there, he was the One.
I’m not sure what impression this made the first time around, because the scene shifts to the next day, lots of people standing around down by the river Jordan I imagine. And Jesus walks by again. John tells his two followers, “Look! Lamb of God!” And that is enough of an introduction for them. Off they go to follow Jesus. Jesus notices them, and speaks to them, but here there are no introductions. He does not ask who they are, he asks what they want. They don’t tell him who they are, they as where he is staying. And he invites them to come and see. So they spend the day with him. Now scripture makes a point of telling us it was about 4 o’clock when they went with him, and we must remember that at that time and place, that was when a new day started. As Genesis says, there was evening, then there was morning, the first day. The Jewish Sabbath starts at sundown. So Andrew and the other follower spent the night and probably more with Jesus, seeing where he was staying, learning more about him. An experiential introduction to this lamb, this light.
Then Andrew goes off to find his brother Simon to introduce him to the Messiah. Jesus does not ask what Simon wants, but instead introduces him to a new identity – not Simon, but Peter; not son of John, but the rock of Jesus. Quite an introduction.
So what was your introduction to Jesus like? Personally, I’ve been introduced and reintroduced. I’ve heard the proclamations of others – lamb of God, Messiah, true light. I’ve tried to figure out his connection with various people – who is Jesus to the fundamentalists, to the atheists, to the poor, to the rich? Who is Jesus to the criminals, to those victimized? I have been skeptical and questioning, and yet, when I have accepted the invitation to go see where Jesus stays, to explore how he lived, how he died, how he resurrected and continues to live and move in this world, well, I just want to introduce him to everyone. In my reading this week I came across a reflection by the Rev. Lilian Daniels about Jesus and introductions that was just delightful:
“And what do you do?” we ask one another at a party. We get a list of accomplishments or a résumé, and sometimes we are caught off guard by the resigned description of a sad life. When that happens, we want to find another guest, one who follows the rules and says, “I’m in real estate. And you?”
What if we asked more of one another in our introductions? What if we skipped the world’s definitions and moved instead to God’s? The guest responds, “I work in real estate, but what I really am is a creature that God knit together in my mother’s womb. My family wants me to move into commercial development, but sometimes I wonder if I’m an arrow God hid away in a quiver, and I’m about to be shot out into creation. The world tells me I don’t make enough money to get my monthly credit card bills down, but my faith tells me I could be a light to the nations.”
Isaiah wanders over from the canapé table and says, “I couldn’t help but overhear your words, and I know exactly what you mean. I have labored in vain, yet surely my cause is with the Lord.” “And our reward with God,” says the realtor. The party goes on around them, but they have been caught up in something new.
The disciples are not looking for small talk, or more introductions. They are looking for a way of life.
“Come and see,” Jesus says, as if to suggest that we do know one another not by titles or names but ultimately by how we live. How ordinary. Jesus has gone from being the Lamb of God to a guy having some other guys over to his place. But then Simon Peter’s brother brings him to Jesus and says, “We have found the Messiah.” Jesus responds by giving Simon an entirely new name. In the end, it is Jesus who makes the introductions and Jesus who gives the new life.
And so I invite you consider not only how you have been introduced to Jesus, or how you may have even introduced Jesus to others, but to consider how Jesus may introduce you to a new life of purpose, how God has called you, chosen you,sharpened your words, brightened your light that you may shine God’s love upon the world. No matter how useless your work may sometimes seem, no mater that you have been rejected, even despised, God honors you and has given you strength. Friends, let me introduce you – child of God, called and equipped to witness to the true light. May it be so.
