Witnessing to Joy?

You can listen to this sermon here

 Gate Pa – Year B 3^rd Sunday Advent 2023,

Readings:

Psalm                          Luke 1: 46-55 (Mary’s song)

First Reading:             Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11             

Second Reading:         1 Thess 5:16-24                 

Gospel:                         John 1:6-8, 19-28               

What I want to say:
Last week we were invited to “Wake up!”- what does that mean for us?
Use passage from John 1 offer a response.
-        Wake up to God’s presence in the light of Christ, in our midst (John 1: 26+7)
-        Presence as described in Isaiah.
o   Reinterpreted by Jesus in Luke's Gospel
o   Echoed in Mary’s song of praise and protest as she responds to Elizabeth’s greeting
Light is animating force within creation – Logos of John 1
Animating force for justice within creation
Shalom – God’s peace is only found in this way
Light is within – allowed one to see
-        Light is within us
-        Allows us to see light presence in world
-        Allows us to bear witness
John is our model –
-        We bear witness to this light
Advent is time to take time to nurture that light within
That we might see light of Christ in our world and give witness to it
Finish with Presence

What I want to happen:

-        When we live in this light and bear witness to this in our words and action we find joy

-        People to reflect on how they see the light of Christ in the world and how they might give witness

The Sermon

      1.    Introduction: 

    Last week we were invited to “Wake up!”
I was asked during the week what I thought we as a parish might wake up to.
I wonder how you might answer that question.
ð Discuss
  ð plenary

      2.    John 1 

Last week we heard about John Baptiser from Mark
This week hear Gospel of John’s version of John the Witness
I think it offers ways answering
-        What is it we might need to wake up to
Here we have reference to Bethany beyond the Jordan @@@
-        Talked about last week
-        Had to work the get across the Jordan to hear John
-        Thing we need to keep in mind is that forgiveness of sins happened at the temple
o   one of the main functions of temple
-        some thing more going on here
o   sign of initiated into new way seeing world as God’s
-        making some people nervous
ð Christianity was once a new way of seeing and living in the world
o   And it made people nervous
-        Gospel writer is very clear that John is a witness to this new way @@@
o   Not Elijah, even though stands under Elijahs hill
o   Not Moses – even though stands under Mt Nebo
§  and at point Hebrew people crossed into the promised land
o   Not the messiah
He is a witness
In answer to question - “Why do you baptize if you aren’t the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”
²⁶ John answers, “I baptize with water. Someone greater stands among you, whom you don’t recognize. 
-        Someone greater stands amongst us, whom we don’t recognize. 
So going back to the question
-        What might we as a parish need to wake up to
At very basic level we are to wake up to God’s presence in the light of Christ,
-        in our midst (John 1: 26+7)

      3.    Presence 

Where might we look for that presence?
-         that is what Marks gospel is all about
o   helping his community wake up to that presence.
-        What John’s Gospel is about
o   Whole gospel points to Jesus’s presence among us
o   Healings etc… are not miracles but signs to God’s presence among us in Jesus
ð John the witness becomes our model of being a disciple
-        Presence also described in passages like Isiaah.
o   Reinterpreted by Jesus in Luke’s Gospel
·       Read from scroll in Nazareth
o   Echoed in Mary’s song of praise and protest as she responds to Elizabeth’s greeting
·       Psalm this morning
Gospel writer describes Jesus as Light
We are to wake up to this light in our midst
-        Light that is animating force within creation – Logos of John 1
-        Animating force for justice within creation
-        light bringing about Shalom – God’s peace is only found in this way

      4.    Where do we look for this light? 

Within the biblical world view the light that allowed someone to see comes from within
When light went out person went blind
When Jesus restored sight he rekindled light within
Where do we look for the light?
Light is within – allowed one to see
-           Light is within us
-           Allows us to see light’s presence in world
-           Allows us to bear witness as John models for us

 

      5.    Advent and Joy

Advent is time to wake up to presence of the light of the world in our midst.
In part we do that by taking time to nurture that light within
We are invited to
-        Spend time paying attention to the light that is within us
o   That we might see light of Christ in our world and give witness to it
-        When we wake up to this light
o   When we give  witness to this light
-        We will know joy
Pew sheet talked about ways we can open ourselves to joy as well

       6.    Presence

In the ordinaryness

the messiness of each day

the routine and mundane

the difficult and sad

God is present.

In the extraordinary

the joy

the glimpses that take our breath away

when we stop

suddenly seeing

God is present.

May each moment be one

we live God's presence.