“…[Since] she hadn’t been asked to talk about her faith since confirmation…articulating her reasons for going to church, let alone the importance of her faith, was remarkably difficult. Eventually, she came out with a single clear sentence describing what her faith meant to her.”
Would you rather attend a sporting event or an event related to the arts? Why?
No problem answering those questions in detail.
So, you can talk about why you would prefer one type of event over the other, why this team matters or that play calls to you.
Can you talk about why you are here today? Why you keep coming back?
Can you talk about why Epiphany matters or why church calls to you?
What do you point to about Epiphany that sets it apart for you?
How does God get your attention? What does God do to keep your attention?
What would you say to point to God in your life? Epiphany? The World?
Blogger David Lose writes:
Notice that John the Baptist, at least in the Fourth Gospel, doesn’t actually baptize Jesus but rather only witnesses to him. This, in fact, is the chief characteristic of John. That’s why there are all those paintings of John pointing to Jesus, whether portrayed as a baby held by Elizabeth pointing to his younger cousin the infant Jesus in Mary’s lap, or in the famous Grunewald painting of John pointing to Jesus on the cross with a finger probably twice as long as normal. John points, he calls attention to, he witnesses in word and deed to Jesus.
In this particular passage, his witness has both a positive and negative aspect. Positively, John (the Evangelist) says that John (the Witness) came to testify to the light. Negatively, John makes clear that he himself is not the Messiah so that he can talk about the one who is coming after him. Again, he points, testifies, witnesses to Jesus.
This passage has been an important one over the years for preachers. It’s been a valuable reminder of our call – to point to Jesus. But this week, I wonder if we might also suggest that John the Witness isn’t just an example for preachers but also for all Christians. John, as far as I know, wasn’t ordained. 🙂 And yet in word and deed he pointed to Jesus in a way that we still remember and from which we might take both instruction and encouragement.
One more note: notice that John’s testimony isn’t actually all that articulate.
John knows who he is and who he is not. This is a large part of Witness.
Our challenge this week is to find our Witness identity.
http://www.davidlose.net/2014/12/advent-3b-practicing-advent/
