Witnesses

St. Paul’s Church in Bergen, Jersey City NJ

December 14, 2014

Year B: The Third Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

Psalm 126

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Witnesses

            Doesn’t it feel like Advent just started?

             Yet, look, it’s already the Third Sunday of this holy season of waiting and watching – this sacred time of preparation.

            Just one more Advent Sunday to go.

            I love Advent so I’m always sorry to see it slip by so quickly.

            But, you know, Advent used to be different than it is now. Some of you may remember that Advent used to be a more penitential season – kind of like a little Lent.  In fact, Advent and Lent shared the same purple color.

            In recent years, though, there’s been an attempt to soften the penitential aspects of Advent – the season now gets its own color – blue – the color of hope and the color associated with Mary who is, of course, one of the central figures of Advent and Christmas.

            Back when Advent was more penitential than it is now there developed the idea of softening up a little bit on the third Sunday – to remind people that the days of preparation were almost over – to encourage us that God was soon to enter the world in a new and unique way with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

            So, today on the Third Sunday of Advent we put away the blue vestments in favor of the rose – and it’s such a great color on me, right?!

            We celebrate “Gaudete Sunday” which comes from a Latin word for “rejoice.”

            Rejoice! Our long time of waiting is almost over!

            But, not quite. So, just like last week we’re back with that other main Advent character, John the Baptist.

            If you were in church last week, you may remember that we heard the barebones account of John the Baptist and his ministry given to us by the earliest of the four gospels, the Gospel of Mark.

            Today we heard another take on John the Baptist, this time courtesy of the Gospel of John – the Fourth Gospel, considered to be the last of the four gospels to be completed.

            The Fourth Gospel’s description of John the Baptist is very similar to what’s found in Mark and the other gospels – some of the language is almost exactly the same – but there is an interesting difference in emphasis.

            Once again, John the Baptist makes it clear that he isn’t the messiah – he insists that One far greater and more powerful is coming.

            Once again, John the Baptist insists that he is not worthy even of the lowly task of untying the sandal of the far greater One who is to come.

            In the Fourth Gospel, John the Baptist is a baptizer but above all he is “a man sent by God” “as a witness to testify to the light.”

            In the Fourth Gospel, John the Baptist is a witness testifying to – testifying about - Jesus.

            And you and I are called to do exactly the same.

            Just like John the Baptist, we are sent by God to be witnesses who testify about Jesus.

            Most of us come here week after week for all kinds of reasons – maybe out of habit, maybe because someone insists or even makes us go, maybe because we like the music, or maybe because we like the history, the tradition.

            We come here week after week for all kinds of reasons – maybe to be fed by the Word of God, maybe to be fed by the Body and Blood of Christ, maybe to be fed by the friendship and fellowship that we experience here, or maybe just to be fed by the good food at coffee hour.

            We come here for all kinds of reasons but, if we’re open to it, we come here and we can have an encounter with Christ that changes us and makes it worth interrupting our Sunday to come out to church.

            And that is the most wonderful and amazing gift.

            But, after receiving this tremendous gift, we are sent by God to be witnesses who testify about Jesus.

            I know that sounds a little scary for some of us who might fall into the category of the frozen chosen, including me.

            It sounds scary to some of us shy and oh so proper Episcopalians.

            It is scary.

            Most of us aren’t so great at striking up a conversation about Jesus and what he means to us when we’re on the bus or at Shop Rite or at the VIP or even at our shiny new Wonder Bagels – though, who knows, maybe some of us are good at it and should give it a shot.

            But, much more than talking, being a witness and testifying about Jesus is about how we live our lives.

            Being a witness and testifying about Jesus means trying to follow the instructions of St. Paul to the Thessalonians:

            “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.”

            Imagine if we even just tried – just tried a little - to live that out?

            Living like that! Imagine what kind of witness – what kind of testimony – we would offer to our world.

            But, I’m guessing for a lot of us, Paul’s advice sounds really daunting, nearly impossible – nearly as hard as striking up a conversation about Jesus at Wonder Bagels!

            “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.”

            But, you know, rejoicing, praying and giving thanks becomes more manageable – more doable – when we are together.

            A couple of weeks ago Rev. Laurie and I were videotaped talking about our Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession. The video will be shown at our diocesan convention next month as one of the so-called “Mission Minutes.”

            And, when I think about my year and a half back in Jersey City, most of the highlights are the times that people from the three Jersey City Episcopal churches have been together: our New Years Day service and brunch, our Good Friday procession, the Pop-Up Eucharists, our youth events, our picnics at Liberty Park.

            And, as I think about those events, I realize most of them involved us being out beyond our church walls – out there in the world.

            It would have difficult for each individual church to do these things on our own but, whether we realized it at the time or not, together we were – we are – powerful witnesses testifying to the power of God and the love of Jesus Christ at work in our lives.

            Out there, on the streets of Jersey City, we have been rejoicing always.

            Out there, on the streets of Jersey City, we have been praying without ceasing.

            Out there, on the streets of Jersey City we have been giving thanks in all circumstances.

            Out there, on the streets of Jersey City, we have been witnesses testifying about the long awaited Holy One of God.

            It’s hard to believe, but Advent is slipping away.

            It’s already the Third Sunday – Gaudete Sunday – rejoice! Our long time of waiting is almost over!.

            Soon, very soon, it will be Christmas and we will celebrate the gift of God with us.

            And that is the most wonderful and amazing gift.

            But, after receiving this greatest of all gifts, we, like John the Baptist are also sent by God.

            We are sent by God to be witnesses who, through our actions and words, testify about Jesus.

            May it be so.

            Amen.