December 17, 2006
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The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church In the waiting room Today, on the 3rd Sunday in Advent, we have
come into the ”waiting room” of Christmas. The person who meets us there, is
neither a tired Santa Claus nor a forced smiling shop assistant, but John the
Baptist. In fact, we have two Advent Sundays in a row concerning John the
Baptist; that was last Sunday, and then this one. This is good,
as you hardly find a more typical Advent
person than this pathmaker for
the Lord. John uses some ”juicy words” as he
describes the bad things and the sins in society. If a preacher had stepped
forth amongst us and used such expressions as John the Baptist does, people
surely would have turned away with astonishment and disgust. But we hear in the
Bible story that he, inspite of his harsh words, has an enormous power to
attract. People come in crowds to be baptized by him.
And they ask for guidance, what to do. Imagine, when John gets so much
confidence, he might be tempted to use his power or make himself exciting. But
you never find a single touch of that by the Baptist. He is self concious, not concerning his
own person, but in that he knows exactly his task. What mission he has to fullfill on this
earth: To point to the Saviour. There is a legend about John, that after being beheaded by King Herod Antipas, the king
still was so furious, that he unearthed the body to burn it. According to Jewish
custom, this was (and still is) disgusting. But according to the legend, King
Herod did so. But one part of the body would not be burnt. That was his index finger. The one he had
used, pointing at Jesus, as he said: ”Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world” (John 1,29). ”He must become greater, I must become
less” (John 3,30). ”I am the voice of one calling in the desert: Make the
way straight for the Lord” (Joh 1,23). I am not worthy to
untie the thong of his sandals. Yes, we have some quotes from John the Baptist
that tell us a lot about his personality. John makes himself as small as he can.
He steps aside, so that he doesn’t cast a shadow on Jesus. I once heard a story about the famous violinist
Paganini. I don’t know whether the story is true or not, but it is a good
story anyway. It was during a concert that Paganini in front of a big audience
took a knife and cut all the violin strings, exept one. Then he said ”one string, and Paganini,” before he lifted the
instument to his cheek. Then he started playing so incredibly beautiful on the
one string, so people got moved by it. I think of John the Baptist as such a
”one-stringed human being.” He had in reality only one passion in life. One single
task. That was to make the way straight for the Lord. To point to Jesus. And
that he really did. John became a source of inspiration and a model for a strong movement
in the Christian church from the 300’s in Egypt and Sinai. The so-called ”desert fathers” moved the spiritual heritage from John the Baptist on. With their
low food budget and their ascetic life style, ”hermits” they were named.
They searched the desert to find God and to dedicate themselves to prayer and
studies of the Holy Scriptures, undisturbed. The first, and perhaps most famous of the
Desert Fathers was the Holy Anthony, in English called St Anthony. It is a bit special to come to this
city, and find a house and settle in St Anthony Village, as my family and I have
done. I wonder whether people in our neighbourhood know anything about the
person that the place is named after... It is told about St Anthony that he lived
completely alone for 20 years in Sketis in the Middle Egypt, before he, in the
year 305, stepped forward and became the teacher for other hermits who sought
the desert life. A place near the Red Sea called the Mountain of Antonius is
considered the first Christian
monastery. Anthony once asked God: ”Lord, how come that
some people
die young, while others get old? And why do some unrighteous people get rich,
while the righteous ones suffer?” He heard a voice answering him: Anthony, take care of yourself! God is the judge
in the matters you are asking about, and it is not to your fortune to know the
answer.” ”Take care of yourself,” was the answer Anthony
got. I want to forward this message from heaven to each one of us here today:
Take care of yourself! You are created in the image of God, and you are invited
to fellowship with The Almighty. Also
when you made mistakes and were disobedient to God, then God again showed how
much he loves, and how he appreciates you, by giving his only begotten Son for
your salvation. Then we are approaching a central question in the
sermon text today. Concerning the word worthy.
John the Baptist considered himself so small that he
felt not even worthy to untie the thong of Jesus’ sandals. Too miserable even
to do the slave work. We celebrate Holy communion today. The God that took on
human flesh and blood, and approached us human beings in that way, he still
meets with us as the incarnate, through his body and blood. Who is worthy? Who
is good enough to hold the holy gift of the sacrament in one’s
hand and put it in one’s mouth? Not me. And no one else that I know, I
think. But luckily, the sacrament is not for the worthy ones. Holy communion is a gift for us that are unworthy! He is the only
worthy one, the Lamb that is slaughtered, he is worthy to get all praise and
glory. God knew that even the wise man Anthony, after struggling in prayer to
see more clearly, he needed to hear these words: “Take care of yourself.”
Perhaps he worked too hard on his ascesis. We too, like Anthony, want to understand the problems
we are struggling with, the so called “existential problems.” But God has
decided not to reveal everything to us. We have to let him be God, and trust
that he has the control of this. But at the same time take care of ourselves.
Not despise ourselves, because that is not a Christian virtue. John the Baptist can guide us in the difference of
humbleness and self despise. God created us in his own image, men and women that
he invites into fellowship with himself and with one another. He cares so much
for us that he incarnated himself, came into humankind. We are today in the
waiting room for Christmas. We can once again celebrate the miracle of
incarnation. Let us do it with adoration and joy, to the glory of the Father and
of the Son and the Holy Spirit, one true God now and forever.
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The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |