Third Sunday in Advent 2023 (sermon 2)
Many years ago I had a theology professor who told me that the secret to successfully teaching theology is found in this letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians: “Test everything.” And that’s actually good advice. First, if you are a manager–and all teachers are managers of learning–you have to “inspect what you expect.” A well-designed test gives a student to prove what he or she has learned, or not.
Second, and more to the point of St. Paul’s words, you must not despise prophecy, but test everything. What does that mean? A prophecy is a human being speaking as a kind of mouthpiece for God’s word. So folks in the early Christian congregations would stand up in prayer or Eucharist and say “The Holy Spirit wants Paul and Silas to go on mission to Asia.” But before action was taken, the suggestion, which could be from an unfriendly spirit, or just an overactive imagination, would have to be tested. Other evidence, from Scripture, or requests from Asia, or the local news vendor, would be needed. Only then, after prayer, would action be taken. And that’s not a bad idea for us today. Be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, but test everything. Don’t run off half-cocked.
John the Baptist was a prophet, one who bore witness to the desire of God to save His people. The Jewish leaders, even before St. Paul wrote his letters, were doing the best they could to “test everything.” So they sent emissaries off to the Jordan valley to meet with John and find out about his ministry. They found out about his self-understanding. No, he wasn’t the Messiah. No, he wasn’t some kind of reincarnated Elijah. He was a prophet, but not THE prophet. Then he gave his testimony. John claimed to be pretty much a nothing compared with another who was already alive. John counted himself unworthy even to act as His servant. That man, we know, was and is Jesus Christ, John’s cousin. His baptism would be way more than John’s. Baptism means something like infusion–in Texas we would use the term “marinating.” When we are baptized into Christ, we literally soak in His Jesusness. As by His grace we allow that to soak into our body, mind and spirit, we are over our lifetime changed into His image. That’s what God wants for us, and that’s what we come together weekly to pray for. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine! Amen.
