Jeremiah 31: 7-14
Psalm 147
John 1: (1-9) 10-18

Sent From God!

“Who was that masked man?” ask the incredulous townspeople as the mysterious hero of the day, and his sidekick, ride away on their trusty steeds, Silver and Scout. The answer is, of course, “why he’s the lone ranger.” Once a part of a group of 6 Texas Rangers who are sent to capture a gang of outlaws, the masked man is the lone survivor of an ambush. Together with Tonto, a native American who saved his life, the masked man continues to pursue outlaws even after the men guilty of the massacre are captured.

As the dust begins to settle around Jesus of Nazareth and all the seemingly conflicting stories about him the question is asked, “who was that guy.”

In his Gospel, Matthew answers, “Why he’s the great, great, great, great, great grandson of Adam. (please add quite a few more greats)

Gospel writer, Mark depicts him as the one who followed John the Baptizer and was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah.

Writer Luke, pens the results of his investigation for his mysterious friend Theophilus and determines Jesus is a relative of John, the baptizer, one of those odd wilderness preachers. I was reading a fascinating book this past Advent which pointed out that both Jesus and his cousin John should both have been massacred by Herod; after he discovered the wise men had double crossed him! How Elizabeth and Zachariah kept him safe, is a mystery but we assume God protected him. Perhaps he too fled because of a dream! He was a hairy and unkempt dude existing on bugs and honey and wearing animal skins.

These days, such preachers stand on street-corners and carry their own mic, amp and a receptacle for donations! John hung around the Jordan river and baptized those who requested it.

A man named John, writing last and it seems, for those we might describe as more philosophical, those who are taking things to a cosmic level, asserts that he is the Word, which meant that he was kinda, sorta, with God since the beginning of time. John even asserts that he was God.

Well, what is it? Which version is correct? Well they all are, but keep in mind they are not testifying at a modern trial where both defence and prosecution are questioning them.

Each gospel writer, in his own way, tells the definitive story of Jesus. As the Bible, as we know it, was being compiled, the leaders of the church decided to include 4 gospels and not to attempt to harmonize them into one document that did not contradict itself. It may interest you to know that some writings, claiming to be gospels, did not make the cut.

In John’s story there are no angels or cute newborns; no shepherds and no magi. John’s story is the one that makes a particular connection between the good news of God, and the light of the world. For John, Jesus is all about light.

A couple of days ago I was talking with the couple who were married yesterday in Nipawin. I asked about the timing of the wedding and the reception. They had an earlier wedding because they needed time for pictures before the sun set. The extra light was for pictures. Light isn’t something we have a lot of in January in the Northern hemisphere. We are not in Australia, which has seasons opposite to ours. We are fortunate as some places have next to no day-light at all in January.

Have you ever tried to find something you have lost. It’s not where you thought it was. I have a cat, who likes to play hockey with anything she can knock to the floor and move with a swipe of her paw. I remember the one very nice earring she swished under the baseboard hot water register that ran under the living room window and the pencils I found in the process. I remember the numerous game pieces and scrabble tiles that could not have gotten where they ended up without her intervention. I used a good flashlight to help me to see under the heaters or in the corners behind the furniture. The registers barely gave me enough room to slide my fingers along because new hardwood had been laid after the heating system had been put in when the house was built.

I remember when my oldest nephew was young and liked to hide things in places the adults in the house would not think to look. Now that he has 2 sons of his own, I’m hoping he gets a dose of his own medicine!

John came out of the wilderness, testifying to the light; speaking of Jesus as the very Word of God. People came in droves to hear John and later they would come to hear Jesus. But that is not us.

2,000 years, and then some, have come and gone since John came out of the wilderness and began to speak of Jesus testifying to the light; speaking of Jesus as the very Word of God. We need to ask ourselves, what we are looking for this year? Perhaps more importantly, what are we called to help others to find?

Over 2,000 years later, it seems to me that we are those who are called to testify to the light, where we found it, and how it has improved our lives, and helped us to help others. We are those who are called to tell others what Jesus has done for us. We are those who are called to follow Jesus’ teachings about visiting the prisoners and feeding the hungry.

As communities of faith we initiate newcomers through baptism and we covenant together to provide Christian nurture, and Christian community as we ourselves follow Jesus.

Next week we will be called to reaffirm our own faith, our own Baptism, and to re-commit to the journey of proclaiming and following Jesus.

Who is Jesus for us? How does our Christian faith inform our lifestyle, our actions, our priorities, our way of being in the world. As our world becomes ever more secular and even hostile to Christian faith where do people learn about Jesus if not from us? Like the variety of Gospels there are varieties of churches with their own versions of the Good News. If we are the church that practices more of an emphasis on justice and equal rights and diversity based on how we see Jesus ministry, how will people make those connections if we do not voice them and live them out?

A friend of mine reported that she had a conversation with a colleague that began, “I do not believe in God, I just can’t.” My friend then asked, “Tell me about the God you don’t believe in.” It turns out that this person had picked up all her ideas from a much more conservative church which took the Bible very literally, was very legalistic, lacked compassion, and was unfriendly to science and medicine. When she discovered that my friend had a firm faith without having to take the bible literally, deny science and medicine she began to open her heart to teachings of Jesus about love, justice and mercy.

Each one of us are called to be evangelists, giving our reasons why we give to the poor, advocate for compassion, open our hearts to the hurting and still proclaim the God of heaven and earth. Each of us have been sent from God and can be like John as we proclaim that we have found the light and that this light helps us on our path of faithfulness. Let us speak of the light that shines in the darkness.

Amen