DEC. 11, 2005 PASTOR SCOTT FULLER
ISAIAH 61:1-4, 8-11; PS 126; I THESS 5:16-24; JOHN 1:6-8, 19-28
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we believe and in believing we obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
A-B-C, 1-2-3, Do-Re-Mi. It often comes down to the basics, doesn’t it? A sports team stumbles, a smooth speaker stutters, a smart student struggles… and the solution to the problem is often a return to the basics.
A young outfielder was traded to the Minn. Twins a few years ago. He’d shown lots of promise early on, but then his production dropped. No threats or incentives seemed to help. Then one day the team doctor asked him to take a simple eye exam. A pair of glasses later, and the player was soon robbing hitters of their home runs and hitting a number of his own…
A friend once revealed that he and his wife weren’t relating very well - constantly snipping at each other and unable to communicate. So they agreed to see a counselor. Very soon the analyst gave them an assignment: every day, do one nice thing for the other person… They had many other problems to work out, said my friend, but that simple rule really helped.
It’s strange to say, but true, that we tend to forget or ignore or think we outgrow the basics, the founding principles that help us start out right in life. Plus, it seems that the more confident we become in ourselves (a good thing - to a degree), the less we depend on the wisdom of others, especially our God (which is never a good thing).
So how are we supposed to revisit or recover or recapture that simple but vital basic wisdom? Any ideas?
Fortunately, in today’s Bible lessons we get to see how John the Baptist did it. And strangely enough, the best clue comes in what seems to be the most boring verse. Would someone read v. 28 out loud for us? This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing (JN 1:28). Now why that place is special was made clear to me by Harry Wendt, the author of the CROSSWAYS! Bible study.
1) It’s the wilderness – miles away from all the distractions of life.
2) It’s the point where the people of Israel have always entered the Promised Land. When Abraham and Sarah first made their way across the desert; when Moses brought the people up out of Egypt; and when the Israelites returned from captivity in Babylon, they all gathered here to cross the Jordan River and come home.
3) The wilderness symbolizes for these people the fundamentals: the ABC’s, the 1-2-3’s, the Do-Re-Mi’s of being God’s children.
What basic lessons about life and faith do you think the people learned from their wanderings in the desert? Trusted God for everything. Cared for each other. Became strong. Started thinking like free people. Changed from servile slaves into the powerful people of God.
John the Baptist was simply doing what prophets and preachers have done among God’s people for ages: invited them back to the basics. So what are those basics, those ABC’s/1-2-3’s/Do-Re-Mi’s of faith for us? What Bible verses or stories communicate God the best?
-(John 3:16) For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
-Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.
-And, of course, Jesus’ answer to the lawyer’s question: Which commandment is the best? Said the Lord: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind…And you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37-38).
And the good news is that when we pay attention to these basics, something special happens. Wherever we are, we place ourselves where God can work on and in and through us to make heaven’s will happen around us: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
Every incident, story or encounter with people; every walk through the wilderness or day spent at home; every sunrise or sunset, cold winter storm or sunny day at the beach; every moment in life becomes an opportunity for us to hear God’s Word: as Gospel or Law, as “ought to” or “get to”, as Grace or Demand, as because I love or if I ever…
These basics of the faith keep our senses open to God’s Spirit working in our lives. And that’s how we live best as servants of the Lord, able, truly, in all things to love God and to love our neighbors…
Don’t tell our organist, Kathy, but on Thursday as I was driving to work I was listening to the radio station that plays Christmas music. She’s a self-proclaimed purist about waiting until Christmas to play those carols, but, she smiles and plays them for us anyway, so thank you, Kathy. Anyway, the announcers on the Christmas channel (I think it’s Markus and April in the Morning??) were reading a story that someone had submitted about a memorable Christmas feast or gathering...I didn’t catch the beginning of it.
But the writer was saying that he and his wife had offered years ago to cater a friend’s wedding – they were all in the military and knew how to stretch a dollar. So they fixed the food at home and drove it to the reception hall only to find a kitchen that was stripped of all dishes, utensils, even coffee pots.
Well, they sent some friends off to K-Mart and others to raid kitchen supplies wherever they could be found. And sure enough, everything turned out fine. Well, I thought, that’s kind of a cute story but not really prize-winning material…And then I realized that the radio had gone silent.
I was about to change the channel when I heard the other announcer ask with tenderness in his voice...do you want me to finish it? After another few moments of silence we were told why the story was submitted: the groom in this wedding was recently killed in Iraq. The man’s friend was saying, in effect, that simply writing the story helped him remember his friend and the joy that they’d shared.
Luckily by this time I was parked out front here because I had to wipe my eyes before I came in to start the busy-ness of the day. And yet, it was a very good moment for me. Because it struck me then that, though we may not realize it, John the Baptist is alive and well today.
In fact, he’s constantly calling us to leave our cluttered lives behind and go with him out into the wilderness - wherever we are, to take a moment and ponder, meditate on, and say a prayer of thanks for these A-B-C’s, these 1-2-3’s, these Do-Re-Mi’s of our lives of faith. I am convinced that through any people and at any time, God brings to mind these things that are basic, fundamental, crucial to our relationship with God and each other.
May you take time this busy season to hear John’s call and heed it, to visit your wilderness and reflect on the basics of God’s will for life: to be loved and to love, to be cared for and to care for others…for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.