Preparing a sermon at
this time of the church year is like operating the
Hubble space telescope. You can tune it in on any one of
a billion objects of light. This is like thinking about
different aspects of Jesus that are presented in this
lesson. The message can be focused, or it can be blurred
, like when they found that the mirrors had not been
ground properly on the first attempt at focusing the
space telescope (this almost happened to me on beginning
to write this sermon, when I realized that I left out
verse 42!)
. . . Preaching can be
a trial and error endeavor! The important thing is that
one examines the whole text through the whole spectrum
of possibilities. And like exploring with the space
telescope the myriad of stars, galaxies and creative
forces at work in space, there can be that moment when
something happens; one bright object may come into
focus, you might witness a new star being born, you
might discover a planetary system coming into being!!
In the sermon today, I
have found that it is Jesus as the TEACHER of TRUTH that
shines like a bright star in the night sky/morning sky.
This is the learning that emerges when you study the
verses given for today.
One of the aspects of
today's lesson that brings about some cloudiness in the
story is the number of persons named John in this text .
. . is it St. John the Gospel writer or John the
Baptizer? Or is it John the Father of Peter?? Or in some
cases is it St. John and John the Baptist equally
speaking to us the message about God s love revealed in
Christ? Fortunately we don't need to worry about Peter's
father clouding up the story, but we do focus on the
other two Johns. Let us begin by exploring what John the
Baptist means when he says, . . . But I came baptizing
with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to
Israel ."
John is clear about his
mission , he was sent by God to preach a message of
preparation, so that the people would get ready for the
coming of the Messiah. John lives his harsh life in the
desert, he observes strict dietary rules and practices a
life of self denial, and through his living and by his
message he proclaims the coming of the Anointed One . .
. . Jesus, who is soon to arrive and to bring an even
greater message than John's.
Take care to note here
that John, the Gospel writer, is going to special effort
in his writing to make it apparent that Jesus , who the
disciples call Rabbi, is a special Teacher !! Jesus is
going to bring the Light of God into the world by his
Anointed teaching. And so when John sees Jesus coming, .
. . actually walking by, he says "Behold! Stop
everything, Look carefully and observe! Watch this man
closely! Here he comes, the Lamb of God, this is Jesus
the one of whom I have been preaching about and
baptizing for. Do not miss hearing what he says , do not
miss seeing what he does . Pay attention, Messiah has
come!"
Both John the baptizer
and John the Gospel writer are virtually jumping up and
down for us to pay attention to Jesus, who is Rabbi ,
which means Teacher. This is important because the word
Rabbi might have been just a respectful title for the
master or for a man in authority. But St. John the
gospel writer has made it perfectly clear, Jesus is the
Teacher, which we should note he has provided a
translation regarding this point.
Perhaps you have heard
someone talking about a really good teacher at your high
school or at the university, or you heard a really great
speaker at a banquet recently . . . . if you knew of
such a talented teacher, you might go and tell your
friends or family members, "Hey, you've got to go
out and hear this person speak he's great! (or) I
learned so much from her when I took that class!
Some of you have been
the teacher, and you have had your students return after
many years; they have come to thank you for the role you
played in their education or personal development. As
you may know all too well, the most important lessons we
gain from our teachers usually go beyond academics. The
most dramatic lessons deal with the heart.
My first memory of a
great teacher was when I was a little boy in the first
grade. Mrs. Powell was our teacher. To tell you the
truth I never knew her well„„I could not tell you
one thing about her personal interests or where she
lived, but what I remember about her was that she made
me feel welcomed into her class . That was an important
feeling for a first grader who had just moved to a new
school.
Being new, I did not
immediately have a group of friends and, not only was
she a kind person, . . ., but it must have been Mrs.
Powell who taught me how to write . . . (you might
wonder about this when you see my handwriting!! The next
teacher who I think of as standing out in my memory was
my fifth grade science teacher, Mrs. Manley, an African
American woman who later got married and became Mrs.
Sights. Once again, its not that I knew her well, but it
was her kind demeanor. She taught us how to write up
detailed lab reports. She also seemed to take a personal
interest in her students.
I remember how we were
quite caught up in investigating what happened to sugar
as it was heated by the flame of a Bunsen burner . . . .
Now it's amazing how many observations that an11 year
old can make about sugar as it first turns into a honey,
like liquid and then turns into a black carbon stuck on
the bottom of a Pyrex beaker. I'm not sure if I learned
the right lesson from this experience as well, which you
would see if you saw my burnt pots and pans at home!!
Actually I have learned
to be a pretty good cook, so maybe the finer points of
caramelizing my onions and garlic can be attributed to
this early scientific endeavor. You never know when you
will meet a great teacher in your life, and you cannot
predict how their teaching style or mannerism may prove
to be as valuable as the subject matter itself. We live
a life of
learning and we know that it is vastly important to have
good teachers.
One of my high school
teachers was Mr. Mate' who was also an English teacher.
Mr. Mate had a gift for appealing to his students and
facilitating interaction among all the students in the
classroom. He had especially caught our attention when
he had the class work on trying to understand the poetic
lyrics of a popular rock song of that time (the late
70's). The questions and class discussion dealt with
many issues that were relevant for teens, from racial
issues to addictions to religious issues or occultism .
As the class worked together on this project, barriers
seemed to fall away. Mr. Mate' allowed each student to
share their own understanding of the good or the bad
message that was contained in the song there was an
atmosphere of mutual respect in that classroom.
And yet, the students
had not really recognized what a good teacher he was
until he was gone. Unexpectedly, Mr. Mate' died later
during that school year.... today's lesson Jesus is
entering into his ministry and there is excitement
conveyed by John the Gospel writer. We feel this
excitement by the manner in which John the Baptist
introduces Christ to Andrew and the other disciple. John
says that Jesus ranks ahead of him! This must mean that
Jesus' teaching is going to be above and superior to the
teaching that John the Baptizer was bringing. Adding
more to the sense of awe comes John's next statement
when he says, "Jesus was before me."
Here, John points to
the eternal significance of Christ Jesus' is not just a
wise teacher who has come from among the people, Jesus
has come from God!! Jesus has come from Before!! This
statement about Jesus being before reminds us of the
Genesis story, where Moses asks God what he should tell
the people about who God is, and God says "I
AM!" When John the Baptizer uses a similar type of
description for Jesus, saying "He was before
me" we are led to understand that Jesus' life and
Teaching have eternal beginnings and eternal
significance for all time to come . Jesus brings Divine
Teaching to the world!
Our Challenge is to
Learn. And so here we are, a people who call ourselves
by the name of Christ. Today we are disciples like
Andrew and Simon Peter and the others . . . and today
John's message about Jesus, the Son of God is reflected
onto our lives. We are challenged to hear and read the
teachings of our Lord Jesus with fresh ears and with
enlightened eyes. Through the Teaching we have received
we carry out the ministries and witness of this church.
W e continue to convey the message of Christ to the
community around us. But what will the people hear? What
will they see? How does the ministry of St. Paul's
direct people to look and listen for Jesus Teaching?
Before you or I answer
this question, we should carefully consider John's own
admission that he has not known Jesus, in fact twice the
Baptizer says, "I myself did not know him."
Now this sounds peculiar, how could the prophet who was
sent by God to proclaim Jesus the Messiah be openly
admitting that he did not know him, surely something is
wrong with this statement. After all, there are many
Christians today who speak for Jesus, or who will tell
you exactly what you have to do in order to know Jesus
as though there is a precise formula for knowing our
Lord . . .
I think that John's
admission of not knowing Jesus is there to assist us in
humility . John, the Gospel writer, has included this
admission twice in order to remind us that Jesus'
ministry and teaching are not readily knowable : That
is, once you think that you have understood the gospel,
a new dimension or encounter with the living Word of God
will send you in another direction.
Much as I was
describing at the beginning, when I talked about the
Hubble telescope, you can never see the whole picture of
the universe, and if you ever claim that you have, you
are committing blasphemy! God cannot be and should not
be placed within our limited limited understanding. A
good Teacher never reveals the complete teaching to
his/her students, but allows room for experience. Even
failure is part of learning so that the deeper essence
of truth will be revealed and the lessons will not be
learned superficially. The most important truths that
Jesus reveals to us cause us to return to his feet, this
is the place of honor, this is the place of learning,
not busying ourselves with formulas or recipes for
salvation as though we could earn it in the kitchen like
Martha!
For Christ has
accomplished salvation for us, h that is all the truth
we need to recognize as our creed. But We are led to
more truth by the lessons of the Spirit, which cause us
to come together like my English class under the
direction of Mr. Mate' or like the finding of the common
language at Pentecost Christ is Messiah Christ's
teaching makes us understand that we are children of one
family, the Family of God. WHAT?
Like any teacher who
knows human nature, Jesus challenges his would be
disciples when he asks, "What are you looking
for." When I first read this passage I wondered if
he meant to say, "who are you looking for?"
This question seems like it makes more sense. After all
we would think that the intention of these disciples was
to meet Jesus. But then their reply throws us off,
"Rabbi, where are you staying? " This doesn't
sound like a direct inquiry about who Jesus is, but
rather it is a practical matter, like asking a stranger,
"what hotel are you staying in?" So maybe the
disciples were getting a little off track or just didn't
know what to say to the man that the Baptizer had spoken
so highly about. . . Returning to Jesus question,
"What are you looking for?" brings things back
into perspective.
Jesus question
indicates that he believes that they desire something
from him. Or maybe it is more accurate to say: Jesus
knows he has something that he can give to them . . . .
WHAT is it all about?? The WHAT is about Jesus the
divine Teacher, the Son of God who Teaches and speaks
words about forgiving and loving one another in a world
of misunderstood applications of the law and
religion.
The WHAT that is sought
after can be found when Jesus goes about performing acts
of healing and kindness in an injured and sometimes
unkind world. Jesus teaches us and His words speak of
being true to ourselves, being true to others, and being
true before God, who longs to be gracious and who longs
to be understood by all. The truth that we are to live
is our recognition that we don't always have all of the
answers , we don't always even know what questions are
relevant. But seeing Jesus and to truly knowing Jesus
are matters of faith and discovery in learning.
Earlier I spoke of John
the Baptist's recognition that Jesus was descended from
eternity into the present. Remember how John's gaze was
fixed upon Jesus. He was not just looking at Jesus
passing by, but John was staring intently at Jesus. John
was contemplating the Man who came from God, John was
taking in the eternal nature of Christ, trying to
understand who Jesus was. For the baptizer this was the
moment . of epiphany.
No longer will he say
that he does not know who Jesus is. But now both Johns
will proclaim, "Behold the Lamb of God that takes
away the sin of the world. He is Rabbi, the Teacher,
Listen to Him. May we also recognize the divine lessons
our Lord teaches and may we experience his Peace and
Light softening our lives and brightening our days both
now and forevermore.
Amen