December 8, 2024 "Permission To Start Again"

This story about John the Baptist centers on the question from the religious authorities: Who are you? J the B answers it by talking about who he is NOT. He is NOT the Messiah. I wonder if we should start where he starts. We are not the Messiah. One of the worst mistakes the church has made throughout history is claiming an identity and power that just isn't ours. When we have messianic ambition, people get hurt - the Crusades, the Inquisition, the many times native lands have been stolen and native people have been displaced or killed; the list goes on. So instead, we look to John. He chooses humility from the jump. He's in the wilderness, away from the temple, away from power. We start where he starts - we define ourselves by who we are not. We've all done this. I'm a Christian, but not THAT kind of Christian. I go to church, but I promise it's not THAT kind of church. We read the Bible, but we don't read it THAT way. That kind of thinking can be helpful and clarifying. But we can't stay there. "Who are you?" is a question that asks us to do some deep work. It invites us to examine what we hold dear, what we trust, what we love and who we love - and why. Once we've stripped off all that, we are not, what's left? What good do we offer the world? John's answer is clear - humility. He doesn't point to himself - he points to the one who is on the way. So, who are you? Maybe you can't answer that question right now. And maybe that's okay. Maybe that makes you ready to answer J the B's invitation to make a way for the Lord. Maybe that's all any of us needs every once in a while. Permission to stop pretending - permission to start again. Maybe what we need is someone to tell us to turn around so that we don't miss the new thing God is about to do. Speaker: Aaron Vis Scripture: John 1:6-8, 19-28 http://bible.com/events/49359539