John 1:6-8, 19-28
6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He 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?” 20He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” 21And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said. 24Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” 28This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
“Who are you?” That is a very powerful question, right up there with “What is the meaning of life?” It asks us to define ourselves, whether it be with a name or a long narrative or even by saying who we are not. That is the tactic John uses, He defines himself by who he isn’t. He makes it clear that he is not Elijah or the Messiah. In fact, he reminds me of the priest in Rudy, who says “Son, in 35 years of religious study, I have only come up with two hard incontrovertible facts: there is a God, and I'm not Him.”
It is not the easiest thing to say that one is not the center of the universe. Afterall, our personal world is defined by all that we see and do and experience. I find it impossible to imagine the world through another person’s eyes, and growing up I had a hard time even getting to the point of recognizing that other people did have their own lives and feelings, since they were so unknown to me. And do not we enjoy being on top and watching other people suffer? Why else would we have reality TV shows that focus on dysfunctional families and the rounds of terrible auditioners on talent competitions. Each of these shows allowing us to feel better about ourselves and see ourselves as better than the other people out there in the world.
Yet here we have John not saying “Here how awesome I am” but rather “here is what I am not, I am not as amazing as everyone seems to think I am.” He had a very clear understanding of who he was and who he wasn’t. He was honest with himself and the people around him about what gifts he had and what gifts he lacked. This knowledge freed John, it freed him to do the best ministry that he could, instead of idling by with ministries that were not true to who he was and he would have been ill-suited to do.
Likewise, we are called to understand our gifts, who we are and who we are not. Who are we, both as a congregation and individually? What are the gifts that we have, that we can excel at, that are different from other congregations in the community and what are gifts that we can do together with our brothers and sisters in the community.
Much like the Muppets, there are needs for the various gifts out there in order for the whole to function. If every Muppet was Animal, there would be a great drum section, but also complete chaos and very few words said that were understandable or sensible. If they were all Piggy, there would be too much karate chopping and not enough teamwork. If only Bunson Honeydews, there would be no Beakers to experiment on. Each of them need each other, Kermit to introduce, Fozzie to tell bad jokes, Gonzo to fly through the air and be weird, for the whole of the show to work. Likewise, each of our congregations and individuals have their own gifts that help form the whole of the Body of Christ and allow for the whole body to function and to show the love and grace of God.
What is it that sets us apart from other faiths and denominations and congregations? Part of what sets us apart is our Lutheran heritage. We see God and God’s activity a little bit differently than anyone else and this is something that we need to embrace. We may not be completely right all the time, since our mortal minds can never fully see the mind of God, but we see God in a way that is full of grace and mercy, we see the Bible in a way that defies the loudest voices in Christendom, and we strive for education in a way that exceeds many others. All of this we have inherited from our ancestors, but it is formed and shown in distinct ways through the gifts that we have been given. It is easy to say that the people are the gift of Jerusalem, but it is also true, for without each of us Jerusalem would be a far different place. It is through each of us that the gifts of Jerusalem are known.
How well known are our gifts? Are we just the congregation over the tracks that people seem to know exist, but that’s it? Or are we something more, are we a people united and filled with the Spirit of God, sealed as the Children of God, ready to shine the light of Christ throughout the community and the world? I have only begun to see the richness of the Spirit moving here, since I am still new and learning, but yet I know that we are a people that are truly blessed and empowered, capable of marvelous things. We are more than a building and land, we are the children of God. Throughout this next year, and throughout our lifetimes, I hope and pray that we may diligently seek out the questions “Who am I” and “Who are we,” so that God’s presence may be more clearly seen in our lives.
One of the most active gifts I have seen here is the gift of ecumenism, of desiring to be with people of other traditions in order to serve the mission of God. This is a congregation birthed out of a partnership with the Brethren. Even when I was interviewing here, I could see this desire, as it was hoped that I would be a part of the ministerium in the community, meeting with my fellow pastors of other denominations. Our council has decided that we will be a part of the pulpit swap in January, where I will go to another Columbiana congregation to preach and their pastor will come here and preach. We welcome people of all denominations into the ministries of Jerusalem and this coming year we will be working not only with St. Jude’s for Vacation Bible School, but also with First United Methodist. One of our gifts is that we serve as a bridge between the congregations in the area, as a willing participant in the ministry of God.
This is only the beginning of our gifts and our identity though, and I look forward to us working together to see all that we are capable of as a congregation and individually. We will also learn who we are not. John made it clear, that He was not the Messiah or Elijah, because claiming those would be false to himself and would muddy the message. There are gifts that are lacking here at Jerusalem, and there is absolutely no shame in that. It is merely reality, since none of us and no congregation can be everything to everyone. So instead of desiring to be so, and instead of wasting our time and talents on those areas that we lack the gifts to do well, we support those who do those works and have those gifts, uplifting the body of Christ in its many forms. I will not stand here and claim to know what gifts we lack yet, but that is something which we will have to learn together.
Each of these gifts serve to point us to our greatest gift though, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ showed us the never-ending mercy and love of our God, and John was sent in order to testify to that reality, to testify to the Word of God who lived among us and who saves us from our Sin and from ourselves. It was John who pointed us towards the gift and need for Baptism. Baptism was not new to the Jewish people, it was a centuries old practice of bathing to remove the uncleanliness caused by a host of actions and sins. John used water as well to ritually cleanse the people in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, so that they could be free from the filth of their lives and open to the revelation of God. But as John said, he baptized merely with water, Jesus comes and baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. After Christ, the waters of Baptism became more than mere water, but became the vehicle for the Spirit to enter into us, it became the way in which we died to our Sin and are daily cleansed of that Sin. No longer did we have to ritually bathe ourselves every day in order to make ourselves clean before God. Instead we are baptized once, freely by God, to make us clean for all time, for we are united with Christ through the activity of the Spirit in the Water. It is the same spirit that empowers us and fills us with the gifts necessary to do the will of God and to find our identity as Chrstians, followers of our God.
Much like John, we know that there is a God and that we are not Him. But we also know that we are God’s children, we are the agents of God in this world, called to testify to the light of God and to prepare the way for God into the lives of those around us. So may we hear that calling and may we live out our lives in hope and preparation.
Amen.
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