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6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." 21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." 22 Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord,' " as the prophet Isaiah said. 24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" 26 John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know,27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. (John 1:6-8, 19-28 NRSV)
Happy Monday, dear ConCafe Family! And God's blessings on you, dear Friend! I pray all that you need comes your way, and all that you want, well, that you talk it over with God! We continue our prayers for all who are sick with Covid-19 asking that God's healing mercies come to them quickly and strongly. We also pray for other people with unique needs before the Lord; God knows who they are, we just ask that His will be done.
I am so thankful I didn't have to hear, "Why can't you be like your big brother?" I was the big brother. And I guess I did alright in that I never heard my parents tell my younger brothers to be like me! LOL! I say that to us to prepare to examine the life of the one called by God to prepare the way for Jesus. God knew John's heart and spirit and so he was obedient and even thankful to be the one chosen by God to announce the coming of the One that Israel had been waiting for. John knew his fifteen minutes of fame would be difficult, painful, and fatal. John, like all prophets, preached the truth even if it cost him his life. Yet, like so many, like Paul, and countless other martyrs, knew that other lives depended on their being faithful to God. So does ours. We shine a reflective light received from God to shine on Jesus and away from us. We should have humble, servant hearts knowing that all we should be doing counts to save others from eternal punishment and eternal separation from God.
John, as he preached repentance, drew huge crowds. The necessary advance work was to draw people out of their sins and into the light of God's love. People, of course, questioned him. "Who are you?" the typical question of the curious and the suspicious. John's first response, "I am not the Messiah." They pressed further, "What then? Are you Elijah?" Notice even those that did not believe in resurrection are asking, "Are you the long-dead, famous, awesome, didn't die according to our scriptures, prophet?" We could argue if Elijah would indeed be "resurrected" since he was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire; but we'll leave that for another time. Asked if he was another prophet, John replied again, no. The Jews persisted, "Who are you?" John turns to scripture and says, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord.'" The next question, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John replies, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of His sandal." And our passage ends there.
Advent requires foundational work. To build on Advent, we need a strong foundation of faith. Scripture shows that John the Baptist built upon his faith as found in the scriptures of his people. All scripture pointed to the coming of He who would free Israel from true bondage, the bondage of sin. And John knew it was Jesus, Who was coming to do just that. Another key foundation block is humility. He knew he was not the Messiah, nor could he pretend to be; he was all about Jesus, as we should be, and so he says what he can to prepare them for their encounter with Him. The other key foundational block is service. John emptied himself in his work baptizing people. He put up with the questions, the criticisms and the abusive nature of others, just so he could wash symbolically away, the sins of those ready to be forgiven. You know the waters of the Jordan were never clear to begin with, and to this day, the river is muddy still; one has to imagine many a sin were taken away from people and thrown to where sin goes, but symbolically the water reflects that sin is dirty, and has no room in our lives. And, apart from the dirty aspect of being sin, it is also fatal. Being in a setting where many pass by and some actually sit to talk, I am aware that some may be carrying the very virus that has killed hundreds of thousands in this country alone. The first thing I do after each presenation and discussion is to wash my hands. And as soon as I arrive home, I hit the shower and wash myself of that which could kill me or others. I change into clean clothes and separate my clothing from others in a garbage bag to be washed away from other clothes. John did the same, and Christ Jesus continues to work that in us. Dear one, turn over to Jesus what which can eternally kill you, to His loving hands and you will be washed and be made new in Him.
PRAYER: Awesome Father, may we be willing to build upon a solid foundation of faith, humility, acceptance and washing away of our sin. Guide us to share that message with others; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen,.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Seek to serve Him who saves us.
Receive my blessings of hope and joy, Pastor Eradio Valverde
