BIRTHMARKS
Mark 1: 4-11 NRSV

After the Baptism of his baby brother in church, little Johnny sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, "That pastor said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, but I want to stay with you guys."

Before performing a baptism, the pastor approached the young father and said solemnly, "Baptism is a serious step. Are you prepared for it?" "I think so," the man replied. "My wife has made appetizers and we have a caterer coming to provide plenty of cookies and cakes for all of our guests." "I don't mean that," the pastor responded. "I mean, are you prepared spiritually?"

 

"Oh, sure," came the reply. "I've got a keg of beer and a case of whiskey."

Not quite the “spirits” the pastor was hoping for.

Baptism is one of those things we expect Christians to undergo before church membership as an infant as it is an occasion to commit oneself to following Jesus. We are told that baptism signifies being baptized into Jesus’ death, resurrection, and the new life Jesus, as spiritual water, gives to us. It is a sign and seal of belief.

As an avid people watcher I am sometimes amazed by how much someone resembles a parent, grandparent, or an aunt or uncle. In my family I am reminded of how much I and at least 2 of my brothers looked like my mother. Of course I have always told people she had more facial hair (and she’d kick me for saying that)!

Of course in the movies and in legends and stories people are frequently seeking the lost heir to the kingdom or to an inheritance by discovering a long lost child with the family birthmark or other physical sign of relation.

In the days before DNA testing/matching having a family birthmark or some physically distinctive feature was the one true form of identification, and the sign of relationship between family members. Baptism can be viewed like that as well.

Listen to the Baptism of Jesus, and watch carefully for the elements I talked about:

And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

Jesus’ family birthmark, given at His baptism, is a dove (“peristera” in Greek).

We celebrate and submit to baptism because we believe God's Spirit goes before us. We believe God is working in our lives from the time we are born to bring us to the point in our lives when we are prepared to accept God’s free gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ for ourselves and become children of God

Some churches and faith traditions treat baptism as if it were waterboarding in order to insure the person has committed to Christ. It is like the ordeal medieval knights went through before they were “dubbed” knights.

For me, the mark of Baptism is best regarded as God’s putting his family birthmark upon us. The Christian must be warned that Baptism does not ever become a birthright to superiority or bad behavior. It does not confer special rights and privileges as a member of a church. That always becomes a path of rights, obligations, and responsibilities.

The Grace of God has always been free à accepting it has always had a price.

For Christians, baptism is our first initiation into God’s Church, the beginning of an amazing journey. It must become the foundation upon which our lives are built. For in Christ we are never homeless, we are always surrounded by God’s grace and love.

I once heard a pastor friend say, "children without a Christian foundation have little to build upon." What would it feel like to be a child who is never surrounded by a community who believe in God's love? To have no moral grounding or compass in your life?

Sadly, some children, do grow up thinking that saying "Jesus Christ" is just a swear word! And that the cross is only jewelry. No wonder we live in such a graceless and cruel society.

It’s no wonder people are having difficulty fighting back against a warped image of God perpetuated by those filled with hate because they have no gage to measure it against.

We cannot know the love of God until we experience it for ourselves. Baptism is where and when Jesus tells us who we are and where we belong.

God is the One who initiates that love, and the Church is the body of Christ called to live out that love on earth.

Now, if you were baptized as a youth and then confirmed that baptism, or professed faith as an adult, that means that you made the decision to dedicate your life to Jesus Christ, and your baptism was an outward sign of the decision you made and the conversion you experienced to seek out and live a new life. This is the meaning of the birthmark of new life or "the sign that you are reborn of God."

We do not believe that infant baptism saves us, but we do believe it is a sign of God’s grace going before us that protects and seals until that infant can make the decision to accept Christ for themselves.

This is an important point: Infant baptism must be confirmed later. There is no free "get out of judgment later card" because your parents had you baptized. We do not use sugar water and baptism does not inoculate you against difficulty, suffering, and pain.

God's plan simply requires each of us to acknowledge Him, confess our sins, repent, confirm our baptism, and begin to be regenerated into a new person as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

This is the "born again" experience that has often been debated and discounted. Yet, as the new believers in the Book of Acts received the Holy Spirit, so we also open ourselves to Him, when we seal our baptism. 

Just as baptism seals our faith, Holy Communion, which we observe frequently, serves as the commemoration of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Baptism and Holy Communion has little meaning to the unbeliever but all meaning to those living in faith to Jesus Christ.

These are the only two sacraments, in the Reformed tradition, we observe.

Baptism is something that binds us to others. I am reminded of the story a little girl once told her mother about the first day of kindergarten:

 When asked if she had problems during her first day the little girl told her mother, “When I got there the girl sitting next to me said she was just as sacred as the day she got baptized at church. I told her I was scared at my baptism too, so we held hands and were scared the rest of the day together.”

 God placed a birthmark on us at our Baptism just like Jesus received.

 Praise God and uplift His name. Amen.

TERRORISM STRIKES IN PARIS:

 

L A Marzulli (www.lamarzulli.net) wrote this on his blog today:

Black-clad gunmen shouting “Allahu Akbar!” stormed the Paris offices of a satirical publication known for lampooning Islam Wednesday, killing 12 and injuring as many as 15 before escaping, French officials said.

As many as three Kalashnikov-toting shooters were being sought following the 11:30 a.m. attack at Charlie Hebdo, the publication known for challenging Muslim terrorists with a 2011 caricature of Prophet Muhammed on its cover and which recently tweeted a cartoon of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Two policemen and several journalists – including the cartoonist behind the weekly publication’s provocative images, were among the dead.

“We’ve avenged the honor of the prophet!” the killers shouted, according to witnesses who spoke to Sky News. Other witnesses said the men shouted “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for “God is great.” The gunmen spoke French without any accent, according to Le Monde.

The back-story on this is satire is a no-no and will be met with the harshest of terms, period.  Twelve people are now dead in France because of a cartoon.  This is the face of radical Islam and it’s not going to go away.  France has a very large muslim population as well as other countries in the EU.  Certain sections of Paris are now completely controlled by Muslims and are under Sharia law. http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/2367/european-muslim-no-go-zones.

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Read the rest and also read the post on the “European No go zones.” Those of us travelling in Europe over the past 10 years could see this coming. We also can see it happening here in the U.S. as well (go to Dulles Airport if you doubt me!)

America has always been a place that welcomes difference as long as that difference was willing to bend a little to assimilate into our common values, identity, and the American Dream – you don’t have to do everything the same, apply every core attitude and faith practice to your neighbor, or even expect them to eat the same foods you do.

When will we wake up to the invasion that is occurring around us?

We Christians expect this to happen as the end of days approaches but there are those who are going to be caught as deer in the headlights.

Friends the faith of our enemy holds deceptionalism as it’s core philosophy. Open your eyes and ears – THIS WAS A TERRORIST ACT, not an incident of workplace violence, misuse of guns, or a cult. It was pure religious hate and this was an act of war perpetuated on unarmed civilians.

“ON YOUR TOES”
MATTHEW 2: 1-12 NRSV

“Be on your toes because some of these people aren’t right,” the psychiatric aide at Harrisburg Hospital told me on my first visit in 1980. It was my first exposure to such a place, and the first of many visits to institutions serving mentally ill and mentally deficient people over my mental health career.

When I sat down to read the scripture passage for this week that memory came back to me as I thought, “What type of place and environment was King Herod’s palace and throne room?” What would the Wise men have encountered as they sought the child that was foretold to be the King of the Jews?

Let’s hear their story:

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."

When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.' "

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." 

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 

When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

To understand what the Wise men may have encountered in Jerusalem as they sought information there are some things we have to know.

Let’s first understand that the Herod here is “Herod the Great,” the father of Herod Antipas, who would later endorse the Pharisee’s and the High Priest’s demand of Jesus’ death at the hands of Rome. That Herod Antipas was “King of Galilee.”

Herod the Great, while not really Jewish and not really a nice person at all, had convinced the Roman Emperor to give him the throne and title to Judea after several long battles and wars in the region. Herod was a schemer and survivor more than anything else and lived on paranoia and conspiracy theories.

During nearly his whole reign, Herod faced trouble within his own family. As early as 29 B.C. he had killed his wife, Mariamne, out of jealousy. As the years went by, the whole matter was further complicated by the question of who would replace him on the throne. Herod – multiple wives, multiple children, multiple threats.

Like many people with a strong will to power and rule, Herod could not face the idea of losing it. Three of Herod's sons were put to death, and his brother was said to have "escaped death only by dying."

Complicating the issue is that Herod’s health was never good and he eventually died of intestinal gangrene caused by parasites and poor hygiene.

When Herod finally did die in 4 B.C., two of his other surviving sons claimed the throne and the Emperor Augustus finally settled the matter by splitting the inheritance between these two sons and a third one, and not allowing the title of king of Judea to any of them.

Historians have written that the only good thing that can be said about Herod the Great is that in an age when small countries were at the mercy of aggressors and depended on the will of Rome, Herod did keep Judea safe, secure, and prosperous.

Throughout his career Herod suffered from being caught somewhere between Jew and Gentile (and was thought of by the Jews as a gentile abomination). But despite his wish to strengthen the Jewish state, he still sought the favor of Rome, and this conflict between loyalty would prove his ultimate failure.

Herod the Great undertook great building projects in Judea, including whole cities like Caesarea Maritima and Masada and the rebuilding of Jericho. He also rebuilt the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

But he did things that infuriated the Jews. After he completed the work in the Temple, he deeply offended the Jews of Jerusalem by placing an eagle, the emblem of Roman rule, on the Temple. His last act in life was overseeing the execution of the Jews who had torn it down.

In our scripture from Matthew the wise men from the east, travel to Jerusalem to ask Herod the Great where the King of the Jews was to be born.

Think of that for a second – they came into the palace of a paranoid, power hungry, and physically tormented king with limited but “absolute power” and asked where the King of Jews was just born? Not un like walking into an airport and saying “terrorist,” and “bomb,” in the same sentence to a young fuzzy lipped TSA agent!

Herod was deeply disturbed, because he had been given the title, King of the Jews, by the Romans, and he was planning that one of his sons would inherit the title from him. Equally disturbing was the news that the child would be born in Bethlehem, the site of Herod's summer palace.

Herod tries to get the travelling Kings to keep him informed. But they probably were tipped off by their own intuition or someone in the palace who knew the score and tipped them off like the aide did for me so long ago. Perhaps they left as if they were walking on the proverbial eggshells. God also came to them in a dream and warned them to go another way home..

Herod was frustrated at every turn in seeking out and putting down this new threat to his rule. Is it no wonder that Herod ordered the slaughter of all boys under the age of two years, and that Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt for safety. Joseph did not bring his family back to Nazareth until after Herod’s death in 4 b.c.

After the death of Herod the Great, the Romans divided his kingdom between 3 of his sons, and none of them were called King of the Jews, but rather became rulers of smaller territories.

Herod Archelaus ruled Judea after the death of his father. In Matthew 2: 22, Joseph decided to take his family north to Galilee where Herod Antipas was King, because he was afraid of Archelaus. Archelaus ruled so badly however, that the Romans removed him after ten years, replacing him with a Roman procounsil.

This information helps us understand the politics and society that Jesus lived in as he grew and developed into the man who would become our Lord and Savior.

It’s no wonder Jesus suffered death in this culture – because some of those people weren’t right! And just as some of the people in our world and in power aren’t right either on their understanding, acceptance, and acknowledgement of Jesus. Amen.

PROMISE REALIZED - Part 2

Luke 2: 22-40 NRSV

Last time we talked about God’s promise of a “Kinsman Redeemer” about to be delivered. This week we see the promise realized in the baby named Jesus.

Christmas has come and we need to begin to live with the price of our promises.

In the rush of the last minutes of Christmas shopping, a woman bought a box of 50 identical greeting cards. Without bothering to read the verse she hastily signed, addressed, and mailed all but one of the cards.

Several days after they were mailed she came across the one she hadn’t mailed and then looked at the message she had sent. She was horrified to read, “This card is just to say … a little gift is on the way.”

Unlike this woman God knew what He was doing when He sent us Jesus. In our scriptural passage for today (Luke 2: 22-40) we see the promise already being fulfilled:

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.

Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 

"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." 

And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 

Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul too." 

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.

At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.  The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

A literature and scripture review tells us this about the prophecies of Jesus:

Jesus will come from the line of Abraham. We are told this in Genesis 12: 3 and we see it fulfilled by Matthew 1:1.

Jesus’ mother will be a virgin. The Prophecy is Isaiah 7:14. It’s fulfilled by Matthew 1:18–23.  

Jesus will be a descendent of Isaac and Jacob. The prophecy is given in Genesis 17: 19 and in Numbers 24:17. It is fulfilled by Matthew 1:2.

We are told Jesus will be born in the town Bethlehem in Micah 5: 2. It is fulfilled by Luke 2:1–7.

It is said that Jesus will be called out of Egypt by Hosea 11:1. That prophecy is fulfilled by Matthew 2:13–15.

Genesis 49: 10 tells us that  Jesus will be a member of the tribe of  Judah. This is fulfilled by Luke 3:33.  

We are told by Malachi 3: 1 that the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus, will enter the temple. This is important because the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 and was never rebuilt. This is fulfilled in our scripture reading from Luke 2.

God promised that Jesus will be from the lineage of King David by Jeremiah 23: 5. This is fulfilled in Matthew 1:6.

Jeremiah 31: 15 predicted that Jesus’ birth would be accompanied with great suffering and sorrow. That prophecy is fulfilled in Matthew 2:16. 

There are many prophecies in the old Testament that tells us that the Messiah will live a perfect life, die by crucifixion, resurrect from death, ascend into heaven, and sit at the right hand of God. These prophecies are fulfilled throughout the New Testament.

The text from Luke today represents God establishing Jesus’ credentials to Israel and to us.

The Jewish Prophet Simeon searched the Jewish Torah for prophecy and signs of the coming Messiah because the days and times he lived in were difficult and seemed to be ripe for the promised one’s coming.  We are told that Simeon was promised that he would meet this messiah before he died.

According to a tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Simeon had been one of the seventy-two translators of the Septuagint. As he hesitated over the translation of Isaiah 7:14 (LXX: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive..." that many modern scholars read "young woman" for "virgin" in the Hebrew), an angel appeared to him and told him that he would not die until he had seen the Christ born of a virgin. This would make him well over two hundred years old at the time of the meeting described in Luke, and therefore miraculously long-lived.

The messiah was Jesus, Yeshua, the son of Joseph and Mary. His words are known as the “Canticle of Simeon” and the reformed tradition uses them in funerals as recognition of God’s involvement in our birth, life, and death.

Luke describes Anna as "very old." Many Bibles and older commentaries suggest that she was 84 years old. But this is open to interpretation depending on how the scripture is read.

The Greek text states that "she was a widow of eighty four years." But the passage is sort of ambiguous: it could mean that she was 84 years old, or that she had been a widow for 84 years. Some scholars consider the latter to be the more likely option.

Using the second option, she could not have married younger than about age 14, and so she would have been at least 14 + 7 + 84 = 105 years old. What is certain, however, is that Luke is indicating a very old woman.

Both Simon and Anna show us the perfection and planning God has done to realize His promises and reconcile His creation.

This promise is further refined by Jesus in John 14, of His going to prepare a place for us so that we may be with Him for eternity and  is God’s eternal promise. Amen.

GOD’s PROMISE – Part 1

Just a few days before Christmas two women stood looking into a department store window at a large display of the manger scene with clay figures of the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men, and a bunch of animals surrounding a tiny cross. Disgustedly, one woman said, “Look at that, the church is trying to horn in on Christmas!”

Sadly, Christmas is just a tad bit controversial in our times, isn’t it? I wish it wasn’t. In fact, I would pray that everyone would know the real reason for the birth of Jesus and why it was necessary.

Humanity has needed Christmas, and has been promised Christmas, since we got kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

If you remember the scripture passages in Genesis 3 then you remember how God handled Adam and Eve’s indiscretion with the forbidden fruit and the serpent’s role in that incident.

God promised that for as long as the “serpent” lived, that his offspring and Eve’s offspring would be enemies and struggle against each other, culminating in Eve’s descendant striking a fatal blow to the serpent’s head while receiving a strike from the serpent on the heel.

God was promising Eve, and humanity in general, a “Kinsman Redeemer,” directly related to her, that would be born and set the world aright.

Genesis 3: 15 – “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” HCSB

The Prophet Isaiah speaks of this coming redeemer no less than 19 times in specific ways that were fulfilled literally before all of Israel who had eyes to see. Isaiah 9: 6 predicts:

“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us, authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The Prophet Micah (5: 2) foresaw: “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from old, from ancient days.”

This is God’s promise of redemption and His steps toward restoring His creation to the perfection He intended.

Our Christmas celebration, regardless if the birth date is accurate, is all about that fulfilled promise. Let’s see how God goes about delivering on His promise from Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 1, verses 26-38 (NRSV):.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

 The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 

 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.

For nothing will be impossible with God."

 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

 Someone once asked me why Mary had to be a virgin, Hebrew word, Bĕthuwlah,

(pronounced beth-ǜ-lǟ), and the Greek word, Parthenos, meaning a young maiden of marriage age who is pure and unsoiled by marriage.

Two quick answers come to mind but neither alters or challenges the fact that God, as the creator of heaven, earth, and humanity, could certainly do whatever He needed to do to make His Will work.

First, it may be that God chose this as part of the way that would ensure that Jesus would start out sinless in His birth. Second, it might be God’s test of faith for Mary, Joseph, and those who become believers in Jesus’ and His mission. It becomes part of the story of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

An additional factor in the virginal birth is it fits and makes sense and also fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy given in Isaiah 7: 14.  The confirmation of the virginal birth has always been found in the earliest of the New Testament writings which suggests it wasn’t a latter addition to further justify Jesus as a prophet and messiah.

If we forget why Christmas is celebrated then we are guilty of forgetting our blessings and gifts given to us by God. If we think of reasons and the mechanics of how God did this rather than why He did it, we are in danger of trivializing God’s Grace.

In order to show the splendor of the newborn Savior in the church Christmas pageant, an electric light bulb was hidden in the manger.

All the stage lights were to be turned off so only the brightness of the manger could be seen, but the boy who controlled the lights got confused, and suddenly all the lights when out.

The tense moment was broken by a little shepherd’s loud whisper: “Hey, you just turned off Jesus!”

Sometimes even our best intentions have unexpected consequences: A wife said to her husband, “This year let’s give each other more practical gifts for Christmas, like I get you socks and you get me a fur coat!”

Our gift to our culture, our society, our neighbors, our family, and even ourselves, must be more practical than material goods that will pass away,

In these last days we can’t afford to alienate or not get the message of God sending His Son to set things right in His creation. This Christmas, let us commit ourselves to share the full story of God’s promise to us: Jesus:

“Even though humanity screwed up everything God still loves us enough to sacrifice His only Son, so that we could receive eternal life if we believe in Him and allow Him into our heart.”

 
Praise to God the Father, God the Son, and to God the Holy Spirit!  Amen.

Christmas Musings

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas from my family to you and yours!

May you experience the joy and hope of the birth of Jesus, "God with Us," every day of the year.

Persevere in your faith and do not give up hope in those things worth living for (let others chose what's worth dying for!).

While others may debate political and nationalistic ideals and claim moral outrage and entitlements let us seek the higher calling of service, love, and embracing freely given grace.

Some talk of American exceptionalism and it's death, let us talk of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the lessons we learn from the Good Samaritan. These were (and are) where American took her inspiration.

Some talk of the commercialism of Christmas and freedom from religion, let us learn to recognize deceptionalism and it's path to death.

Friends we are living in times that speak for truth, love, and old-fashioned community without the political and social correctness and coded word meaning of tolerance.

Honor God as our Creator, Jesus Christ as our Savior, and worship their names above all things and all other names.

WHAT’S MY LINE? - 1^st RESPONDER For Jesus
John 1: 6-8, 19-28 NRSV

Remember the game show “What’s My Line?” It ran from 1950 to 1975. Panelists would ask contestants questions about actions they did and then try to guess what they did for a living or what they had accomplished in life. The show is most noted for giving us the phrase “Is it bigger than a breadbox?”

Additionally there was another show called “All in the Family” that poked fun at the stereotyped “red-neck, blue-collar, bigots of America.” It portrayed a very bigoted man named Archie Bunker. On one memorable show, Archie told his wife Edith that he wanted to be on a bowling team so bad that he could taste it!

Archie described the bowling shirts that this team, named “the Cannon-ballers,” wore: All yellow silk, with bright red piping on the collar and sleeves. And on the back, there’s a picture of a cannon firing a bowling ball at a set of pins.

He said, “When you got something like that on your back, Edith, you know you’re somebody!”

That show was poking fun at the idea that a man could gain a sense of identity and importance from being a part of a bowling team and wearing a gaudy shirt. But that idea raises two questions for us today, “Who are you and what’s your line? What is the source of your identity? And what motivates your actions?

Could you wear a logo or an image, kind of like the old medieval coat of arms that tells others who you are?

Should your sense of who you are before God as a Christian shape how you live and what you do?” And what effect should Christmas and advent have on your life?

We have a pretty good example of how it should be by looking at the person who first acknowledged Jesus, who we can call the first “responder” to Jesus:

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.

He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’

²⁰He 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.’

²²Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’

²³He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” ’, as the prophet Isaiah said.

24Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah,^* nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’

²⁶John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, ²⁷the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’

²⁸This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

This passage shows us that John the Baptist was a man who was clear on who he was not and also clear on who he was. He was also clear on who Jesus is. So he was able to point out to others clearly that Jesus is the only Savior whom they desperately needed.

At this point, we leave John’s opening passage and begin a long section (up to John’s chapter 12) that builds and clarifies testimony for Jesus as the Son of God, the one in whom all should believe. That’s John’s goal in his gospel.

Chapter 1 of John presents the witness of the forerunner, John the Baptist, to Jesus. Maybe we should start thinking of him as the 1^st responder to Jesus.

There are two purposes for this section of scripture: “first, to show John’s witness to Jesus at the start of Jesus’ ministry; and second to clarify John’s relationship to Jesus as one of witness rather than rivalry or antagonism.”

In our first verses, we saw three aspects of the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus:

John is not the Light; second, John has been sent to bear witness to the Light; and third, John’s intention is that all might believe through him.

In the last part of chapter 1 John’s witness bears fruit as several of his own disciples believe in Jesus and leave to follow Him.

It’s clear that we are to learn this point from John the Baptist: We need to be clear on who we are in God’s kingdom so that we can effectively point others to Jesus for salvation. What we believe and how we act on that is important.

John’s message is clear, Jesus’ purpose is clear, and God’s Love in Grace is clear.

The writer A. W. Tozer says it means that “What we want most, What we think about most, How we use our money, What we do with our time, The company we keep, Whom and what we admire, and even What we laugh at,” matter.

It means we must be ready to answer questions and live in such a way that others can learn “what our line is,” and the example-ship in which we live our lives.

Rabbi Zusya years ago said, "In the world to come I will not be asked, 'Why were you not Moses?' I will be asked, 'Why were you not Zusya?'" The problem is how to be the person we were meant to be.

As you know, I am always reading, studying, and searching God’s word for wisdom and understanding. Most of the time I wander and know there is way too much information to learn and discover in God’s word. 

You know that I consider us living in those days closer to Jesus’ return because of the signs and prophecy around us. I recently have been concentrating on how we are to be God’s people in a highly volatile and hostile world.

Learning in God’s word is an amazing thing – you can read things over and over and never understand or only partially discern. But then the Holy Spirit zings you.

Let me read you a passage from the Book of Revelation, chapter 14, verses 6-7.

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

God is telling us three things: We need to first, fear God, second, to glorify His name, and third, to lift high Jesus as the creator of Heaven and earth!

Everything we do as God’s people and His church must be searched and the question asked: Will this glorify God? Does this demonstrate that we fear and honor God? Does this worship God as Jesus as the creator of our world? Does this testify to the world what we believe?

John the Baptist gives us an example that should show us the way and God shows us the rest of the way. Amen