Between Sundays for Week of December 18, 2023
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
John 1:6-8
John the Baptist himself seems to embody our Advent theme, Beyond Human Time. When he emerges on the scene, his existence seems to mess with people’s minds. They aren’t sure where in time to locate him. Are you Elijah – from the past? Are you the Messiah – the one for whom we wait – from the future? He’s neither, but he’s here, in the present – perhaps bridging the past and the future.
Still, people ask: “Who are you?”
The first thing John the Baptist makes clear is who he is NOT. “I am not the Messiah,” he tells them. Now, maybe that sounds obvious to us. Of course John the Baptist is not Jesus. But it wasn’t so obvious to the people who were waiting, who were desperate, for a Savior.
John the Baptist isn’t seduced by the temptation that maybe he could be their Savior. He was resolute. I am not the Messiah. I’m not the one you’re waiting for. He’s already among us – he’s coming to save us. Just you wait and see.
Instead, John the Baptist was clear about who he is. He’s not the light. He’s the one who testifies to the light. He’s like a mirror that testified to the light by reflecting it out into the world. Out in the wilderness, off the beaten path, far away from anyplace anyone would expect to find a Savior. Because that’s what a mirror does with light. It multiplies. It reflects. It reaches places the original flame or bulb can’t – around corners and into crevices, if that mirror is held at just the right angle.
I can’t help but think of Bob Osgood, a longtime member of Bethlehem who died rather suddenly in 2015. Bob was passionate about community musical theater, and shortly before he died, he starred in what was the role of a lifetime for him. He played Jonas Nightingale in the musical Leap of Faith. Jonas is a con-man posing as a “reverend” who leads religious revivals, and in one scene, he’s wearing a sequined blazer and shouts, “I’m a disco ball for Jesus!”
I will never forget that moment! …and today, I can’t help but think, what if that’s what John the Baptist modeled for us? Be a disco ball for Jesus.
There’s a freedom in this image. We are not the light. We are not the ones responsible for manufacturing peace and love and joy in this season – or ever. But when we do experience those moments – the ones Pastor Amy preached about last week – those thin spaces where we glimpse God’s time meeting ours – we take note. We hold up a mirror. We become a “disco ball for Jesus.” We testify to the light.
Friends, get your mirrors ready. Jesus is coming.
P.S. Want to listen to the readings and hear the full sermon from Sunday on this text? Click here to view the fifth Sunday of Extended Advent. Visit our website to learn more about Extended Advent at Bethlehem, including this year’s theme Beyond Human Time, and all the ways you can share in our preparations this Advent season.
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Abby and Amy talk about what they have been doing and reading in these days leading up to Christmas and the ways that we’re connected, or not, to the world around us. All Creation Waits by Gayle Boss can be obtained through your favorite bookseller and is also available in a Children’s Edition.
Bonus: Pastor Amy was recently interviewed by Cass McCrory on the Best Next Step podcast.
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Ponderings
December 21 is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, both the longest night and the shortest day of the year — and the official first day of winter. Solstice celebrations are some of the oldest holidays in human history, going back at least 30,000 years (!). Many ancient stone structures were built with the solstices in mind; Stonehenge, for example, is designed to receive the first rays of solstice sun. Some of our ancient ancestors built bonfires on the winter solstice, in part, it is thought, to lure the sun back after so many months of waning light. Various festivals of light followed from those bonfires, all the way down to the custom today of decorating houses and trees with Christmas lights. The solstice is the pivot point, the beginning of the sun’s return: the daylight on December 22 will last a couple of minutes longer than the daylight on December 21.
Gather at Bethlehem for worship on the Longest Night at 7pm!
