December 13, 2020                                                                    Text:  John 1:6-8, 19-28

Dear Friends in Christ,

            As you know I am no expert on smart phones.  I am learning.  The recent commercials I have seen are for a #12 phone.  Which led me to ask my wife does this replace 11?  Have they just counted from one?  Do they skip numbers?  What does 12 do that 11 doesn’t and why pay hundreds of dollars?  We joked that some day they will just implant a chip in our heads and be done with it.  Or will they?

            Many people in our society have this misconception that phone # so-and-so is going to bring great contentment and satisfaction to their lives.  But these too will be abandoned someday.  Cable TV has a show called “Vintage Tech” which shows how quickly things change.  The size of the first computers and phones is quite an eye-opener and good for a chuckle.

            Things do change but we must always live in the present.  In our world many men and women are clinging to the fatalistic cliché “it is what it is.”  What will the future bring?  Will my grandchildren live in a “Jetsons” world? 

            Today is once again the work and witness of John the Baptist.  He too worked in the midst of a people who longed for the glory of their past under rulers like David and Solomon.  They resented their present situation of feeling trapped by the Romans and having their freedoms taken away.  They had great concerns about their future if things didn’t change.  John brings God’s message of . . .

“GREATER THINGS TO COME”

            Shouldn’t God be providing some joy for these Israelites?  Shouldn’t He provide Israel health, wealth, and happiness?  If that were the case, perhaps God would send a Savior to run for public office.  But that is not going to resolve our most basic need:  reconciliation with God.

            From the bad fruit in the Garden of Eden on we have had a broken relationship with God.  We are so far away from the holy image of God that we can barely see Him.  The evil of some who use these times for their benefit really has no boundaries. 

            Then there’s you and I.  Loneliness, broken relationships, suffering.  On the basis of this rift between God and us, whether we look at the past, present, or future, there isn’t much for which to rejoice.  It was true two thousand years ago, and it’s true also today.  Is that all there is?

            Why doesn’t God do something?  He has.  Look at the first verse of our text, “there was a man sent from God, whose name was John.” (v. 6)  John was sent with divine authority on a divine mission.  John was to “bear witness about the light.” 

            The Pharisees and priests and Levites wanted to know who this guy was.  Christ?  No.  Elijah?  No.  The Prophet?  No.  He is a voice crying out in the wilderness.  John the Baptist would never make it on our world of self-congratulations.  He only wants to talk about another – Jesus the Christ.  He is no slick televangelist he is the forerunner of greater things to come.

            The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is the greater thing to come.  That which has separated us from God, which so often brings hurt and pain to human relationships, is forgiven because the Lamb of God, His own Son, took our sinful nature along with all our sins to the cross.  He put them to death by his own suffering and death.  In Baptism, we were baptized into Christ’s death so that just as He was raised from the dead, we have been raised to newness of life.

            How would you summarize your life today?  Are you stuck with “it is what it is”?  Have you lost the sight of wonder?  Have you lost the images of forgiveness and life and salvation – the greater things we have in our crucified and risen Savior?  Do you look to the future with fear in your heart because of the uncertainties of this world?  Do you dread when your earthly life will cease and you will stand face-to-face before a holy and righteous God?

            Permit me a moment to share with those of you who are haunted by sin, guilt, and shame.  “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1)  Permit a moment to share with those of you who face uncertain times, or illness, or even imminent death, God promises “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5)  Discouragement should be put out to the curb because in Christ we have reason to rejoice always.

            Sit up tall in your pew this morning.  Smile with joy you there watching this worship service at home.  In Christ, we have a new life now and the promise of eternal life to come.  In these promises, there is a certainty of greater things to come.

                                                                                                                        Amen.