Testifying to the Light
Third Sunday in Advent

Week of Monday, December 16, 2002

Lectionary Readings
Isaiah 61:1–11
Psalm 126 or Luke 1:47–55
1 Thessalonians 5:16–24
John 1:6–8, 19–28

The four Gospels are the only biographical material we have to tell us about the life of Jesus, and as we celebrate his birth we notice something odd about two of these texts. Like Mark from last week, the lectionary text this week from the Gospel of John does not tell us anything at all about the birth of Christ. How could it be that in writing about the life of the greatest person ever to walk the face of the earth you could skip the story of his birth?! How can we celebrate the birth of Jesus when Mark and John do not even mention it?

I imagine New Testament scholars suggest any number of reasons for this. Notice how both Mark and John make two identical observations when they begin their stories of Jesus with his adult ministry. First, they both quote Isaiah 40:3 to tell us that John the Baptizer was the one who would “prepare the way of the Lord and make straight paths for him” (Mark 1:3 = John 1:23). Second, they both quote John to the effect, “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie” (Mark 1:7 = John 1:27). Jesus, says John, came after him but in realty is before him in power and prestige.

What, exactly, was this John the Baptizer up to? Last week we learned that he calls us to a baptism of confession and repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This week we learn something else, something entirely simple: “There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him all men might believe” (John 1:6–7). John came to witness to Jesus. According to Mark and John something far more cosmic was happening than the birth of a cute baby in a barn. The birth of Jesus was only a prelude, as it were, the beginning of something unspeakably joyful, that Jesus is “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). John prepares us to receive him and points us to Him.

In other words, the birth announcement of Jesus, if we were to make one, is really a salvation announcement. John the Baptizer came to witness, to testify, to proclaim and to announce this good news of salvation from sin. The lectionary texts for this week also give us two other testifiers. Mary proclaims in her Magnificat, “the Mighty One has done great things for me” (Luke 1:49). The Psalmist declares that God's deliverance was like an incredible dream that evoked joy and laughter, causing it to be said among many nations “the Lord has done great things for them” (Psalm 126:102).

The first two weeks of advent God calls us to waiting and to preparation through confession and repentance. This week, like John, Mary and the Psalmist, He also calls us to witness and testify. For many Christians, this must surely evoke a groan, for today few things are as politically incorrect and daunting as witnessing, evangelizing and testifying in our post-Christian milieu. Part of the problem, I believe, has to do with faulty notions about witnessing, like passing out tracts, hectoring people, or arm-twisting people to believe the unbelievable.

But when I read the four lectionary texts for this week, I see us called to witness to something entirely different, something very joyful. We witness to what we have experienced, or as a faculty friend of mine likes to say, when we witness we are just one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread. If you read through these lectionary Scriptures (above), here are the sorts of people mentioned who might very well enjoy a word of witness this Christmas.

• the oppressed
• the poor
• the brokenhearted
• the captive
• the imprisoned
• the mourning
• the grieving
• the faint in spirit
• the ruined
• the devastated
• the shamed and disgraced
• the weeping
• the lowly
• the hungry

Perhaps you see yourself in this list, either literally or figuratively. Or maybe you see your neighbor or colleague. When I was riding the buses for two weeks in Oxford this past October, it was striking to look at the faces of people—tired, sleeping, worn out, silent. In the pubs I would eavesdrop on conversations and was fascinated how the conversations I heard mirrored my own anxieties—worries about kids, problems on the job, canceled appointments to be rescheduled, a sick family member, financial pressures, etc. The people above mentioned in the Scriptures, and those right around the block, are just like you and me, and I honestly believe that they would appreciate a word of testimony this advent, like John, Mary and the Psalmist gave: “God has done great things for me, and He will do the same for you.”

Admittedly, not everyone wants to hear our witness. Fair enough. John hopes that “all men might believe” (John 1:7), but he admits that, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not understand it...He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 15, 11). Similarly, Mary mentions the proud, the powerful and the rich who want no part of this message. So, we can acknowledge from the start that some, perhaps many, will not believe our report.

But for those so inclined to listen to our testimony about what we as beggars have experienced at the hands of a lavish God, what does God offer? In the Gospel of Luke, the very first public act of Jesus's adult ministry gives us a clue, for he quotes our lectionary text from Isaiah 61. What is it that God offers to us and those to whom we witness? Good news, embrace, release, freedom, comfort, beauty, gladness, praise, double blessing for all your sin, salvation, righteousness, and praise. When you think about it, it is startling that anyone would reject such a message.

What makes the difference between those who receive the testimony of John, Mary, the Psalmist and us today, and those who do not? This, too, I think is very simple. It is all about admitting your need. Only the sick need a physician, said Jesus; those who think they are well have no such need. In her Magnificat Mary reminds us that God is rich in mercy toward those who fear Him, full of favor toward the lowly, strong for the weak, and eager to fill the hungry with good things. But He scatters the proud, brings down the powerful, and sends away the rich empty.

The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) puts it this way:

Question 2: How many things must you know that you may live and die in the blessedness of God's comfort?

Answer: Three. First, the greatness of my sin and wretchedness. Second, how I am freed from all my sins and their wretched consequences. Third, what gratitude I owe to God for such redemption.

If you are willing to admit your need, that you are a beggar, then God is eager to meet you at your point of need. That is our witness at Christmas, and it's like an unbelievably good dream, only in this case it is a dream which has come true.

The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself Copyright ©2002 by Dan Clendenin. All Rights Reserved.