Sermon - Rorate Coeli 2021 - John 1:19-28

Saint John the Baptist Preaching to the Masses in the Wilderness, Pieter Breughel the Younger, 1564-1638

This fourth and final Sunday in Advent, right before Christmas, has long been called The Preparation. John the Baptist is continuing to fulfill his calling as the forerunner of Christ who “makes straight the way of the Lord.” Before Christ comes this is our chance to prepare, this is the time for us to get our hearts ready, to make our rocky hearts straight.

To our ears today these seem like unusual readings right before Christmas. In fact, all of Advent feels weird right before Christmas. The secular world starts marketing Christmas gifts and parties at the beginning of November! You’d think in church we’d be listening to readings and hymns about the angelic announcement that Mary was pregnant with Jesus, or Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem, or the wisemen visiting, or some other such things. We’re not really expecting John the Baptist baptizing people in the Jordan river and calling people to repentance, but here it is.

The reason why we have four Sundays in Advent prior to Christmas is so that we can refocus our hearts on Christ. Especially in recent decades, the temptation at this time of year is to think about everything and everyone but Jesus. We think about concerts and parties, family gatherings and food, and buying gobs of stuff. If you think about it, the person we’re focusing on the most in the midst of all of that, is ourselves. So advent is here to refocus us. We must focus on Christ more than we focus on ourselves.

John the Baptist is a superb example of the humility we Christians are called to emulate. John was a voice crying in the wilderness, everyone went out to see him and hear his message, and many were baptized by him. People were quick to exalt John, even to the status of messiah. Yet, what is John’s constant refrain? “I am not the Christ.” “I am not even worthy to be His slave and untie the strap from His sandal.” “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John the Baptist is like every faithful preacher: he doesn’t tell personal stories and jokes, he doesn’t talk about his own adventures and experiences, but He points to Christ. He calls people to repentance, he calls us to repentance! He calls the Pharisees, who liked to exalt themselves, a brood of vipers. He told them the axe is laid to the root of the trees, and “every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Those words of preparation are just as much for us today as they were for the Pharisees.

This is vital for us to remember as we approach Christmas. Christmas is not about us, it’s not about our families, our presents, our parties, our concerts, our food, our clothes, our fun, it’s about Jesus. Christmas is not about us, but it is for us. Jesus was born in a manger for us. Jesus was on a cross and in a tomb for us. Jesus will return again for us. So it’s not about us, it’s about Jesus, but the benefits of Christmas are ours.

But if we’re too busy focusing on us and on everything else going on around us, we’ll miss Jesus and all of the blessings He comes to bring! Because here’s the great rebuke John gives to the Pharisees: “Among you stands One you do not know.” Like St. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “The Lord is at hand!” If we’re focused on ourselves, we won’t see Him and we won’t know Him.

That’s a strong rebuke to the Pharisees and it’s a strong rebuke to us today. Jesus was standing among the Pharisees, He was literally with them and probably standing right beside them, He spoke to them, they saw Him, but they did not know Him. What a sharp rebuke that the Son of Man was standing beside them, the Messiah was right there, but they were too busy navelgazing to even notice Him.

The Lord is at hand today, but are we too busy navelgazing to notice Him? Jesus is with us in the sacrament and in His Word; He’s right here! We probably all have Bibles in our homes, Jesus is right there, but does it ever get read? Here in northwest Iowa we have a lot of faithful Lutheran churches, there’s one every 15-30 minutes around here, but how full are the pews? Unlike many other church bodies, the LCMS still has pastors to distribute the sacrament every Sunday in almost all of our parishes, but how often do we want to receive it? On December 25th, Christmas, we’ll celebrate the Christ Mass, the Divine Service, Jesus will be here, where will you be?

These are strong words, they’re hard to speak and hard to hear, but it’s necessary that our hearts are prepared for the coming of Christ. If our hearts aren’t ready, then we won’t be able to receive Jesus who is standing among us. So let our hearts be prepared, let the way of the Lord be made straight, so that we would receive Jesus.

Because who is this Jesus, and what does He do? Why is it worth it to prepare our hearts for Him? “The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus comes as the perfect one, without sin, without spot or blemish, to stand among us sinners, to be the sacrificial lamb of God who takes away our sin! Jesus doesn’t just come bearing earthly gifts like the Magi, or the kinds of things which you and I buy for one another, but He comes as the gift who takes away all suffering and gives the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.

It’s for that reason we are called upon to “Rejoice in the Lord always!” When we stop looking at ourselves, we can open our eyes long enough to see Jesus and rejoice in His appearance! He has come and brings pleasure eternal! He stands among us, and with the eyes of faith we can see and know Him as our Savior.

Truly, “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything.” Even when we’re assaulted by strong storms, destroying property and leaving us in the dark and cold, we need not be anxious because the Lord is at hand. Even in times of great tragedy, we can lift up our heads and rejoice, since our redemption is drawing near! God is near to us and stands among us. Jesus is Immanuel, which means God with us, and so He is! God is not far from us, but He’s here, and He fills our hearts with His peace “which surpasses all understanding,” and this peace “will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.”

There’s the great benefit of faith in Christ even now! It’s hard to have our hearts prepared for Christ’s coming, it’s hard to have our idols torn from our hands, it’s hard to look at Christ instead of ourselves, but Jesus is with us and that fills us with peace. When storms are blowing, viruses are spreading, the nations are confused, and the governments are tyrants, God gives us peace. The past couple years have been tumultuous, but as Christians our hope is steady and unwavering because our hope is built on Christ who stands among us. Jesus does not waver when threatened, He doesn’t totter when storms blow, but He stands sure and immovable against all of our enemies. So if Christ will not be moved, and we stand on Him, then neither shall we be moved.

Let us gladly prepare our hearts for Christ to come and enter in. Let us not be distracted by everything swirling around us right now, whether fun or miserable, instead let us look up from ourselves, and look to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith. Our Lord will come and lift our sins, which weigh us down, with His grace and mercy. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He is our help and our deliverer and He will not delay. “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!”