Are we there yet?

John 1: 6-8, 19-28

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“Are we there yet?”

It’s like someone dragging their nails across a chalkboard!

Last month, I took our confirmands to Lost and Found. 

And they were great, really! 

They were so amazing. They truly inspired me, not only in my ministry but as a member of this community!

With one exception, it never fails…

“Are we there yet?”

They always wait until you’re about a half hour away from your destination, far enough into your journey that you think you’ve escaped this nagging, annoying, and pointless question. 

After all, it doesn’t matter how far along you are, it isn’t going to change the time it takes to get there!

It’s always followed up -no matter how close you are- by some kind of disgruntled “Ugh!”

And on top of all that, why can't they just read the signs on the road, or better yet,  use the phones in their hands that their eyes have been glued to through the entire trip!

It isn’t just confirmands. My kids do it too, and I am sure there isn’t a parent here that can’t attest to a similar story. 

The “are we there yet?” bug is at its worst exactly three quarters of the way through any trip and it will persist non-stop from that point on. 

It’s like they have some biological internal GPS that gives them a signal at that very moment to begin persistently questioning and groaning in response to the driver’s reply 

until you either arrive, or the driver just gives up all hope, opens the car door, and rolls out onto the interstate to escape. 

Today marks the third Sunday of Advent. 

We are exactly three quarters of the way through our Advent journey. 

What’s more, as Pastor Stephen has said several times,

This is the SHORTEST Advent we can possibly have!

But the “are we there yet?” bug usually starts on Thanksgiving Day. 

It begins before we even get our luggage packed, pile into the car, and pull out of the driveway!

It does get worse three quarters of the way through our journey though. 

For me, the battle cry to defend the phrase “Merry Christmas” or “Put the Christ back in Christmas!” is exactly the same thing as “Are we there yet?”

Because no one is interested in defending the sanctity of Advent and everywhere I look from November on, I see Christmas. 

Yet, people can’t take down their Christmas decorations fast enough after that ONE single day!

They end up skipping eleven of the twelve days of Christmas!

Now, THAT is an assault on Christmas if I ever saw one. 

An assault on a Christmas that is not a day, but a season that lasts all the way to Epiphany!

What I see is a “Christmas” in the only form we seem to recognize it anymore.

A Christmas that is dictated to us all, by a Secular American Christian interpretation. 

Oftentimes pushed by a secular American Christianity that dictates to the rest of us what exactly is Christian and what is not. 

Those who are most often crying the loudest that we defend Christmas with their prescribed acceptable greeting; “Merry Christmas!” 

have oftentimes been the very people that respond to us as if we’re from a foreign land or inform us that we aren’t REALLY Christian when we respond to their greeting with “Happy Advent”.

A little over a year ago, I recall going to a restaurant with Pastor Stephen. 

While we were walking in, someone passed us and proclaimed “Merry Christmas!” to which he replied,

“Happy Advent!”

Obviously irritated with his foreign ways, they replied confrontationally “Merry Christmas!”

To which Stephen explained, “How can you wish a Merry Christmas when we’ve just started Advent? You’re skipping the most important way we prepare for Jesus?”

Confused, they replied, “Well, Christmas is coming so Merry Christmas!”

I was thrilled to know we would be sharing in ministry together when he exclaimed, 

“Oh. Well, in that case; Happy Easter!” as we went ahead and entered into the restaurant. 

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

This is all deeply relevant to both the season we are in and the Gospel reading for today. 

John’s Gospel is an attempt to bridge a divide between two different communities. 

The Greek community and the Jewish community. 

Jewish thought was considered by the Greeks to be a simpleminded and crude view of the world.

John’s Gospel attempts to bridge that divide by finding something that both cultures hold in common. 

What John reaches for are two terms: Logos and Dabar. 

Dabar is the Hebrew term for word. 

In Jewish thought, a single word from a person is like a bullet. 

Once fired, it can never be placed back into the chamber. 

And if not fired carefully, with a specific and thoughtful purpose, it can do irreconcilable harm. 

God’s Word for the Jewish people, on the other hand, is different. 

God’s Word represents something that is fired true and carefully every single time, with a specific purpose. 

A Word we can only aspire to follow and emulate, but a Word we always fall short of. 

Now, Logos, is the Greek term for word. 

The Greeks perceived everything in the world as if it was in a constant state of flux. 

They compared the world and life to a river. Everything was always changing. 

And that is a good analogy because you can never step into the same river twice, the water is always flowing and therefore it is ALWAYS changing. 

Therefore, life and the world had a real potential for chaos for the Greeks. 

What brought order to it all, was Logos, the Word, 

which represented reason, logic, truth, sound judgement, and ORDER to the chaos of the world and life. 

For the Greeks, the word is what called people to thoughtful reflection and debate. 

So, in the verses leading up to our Gospel for today, John uses these two views of these different terms to illustrate just what Jesus represents.

Jesus is THE Word.

A Word above all other words. 

For the author of John, THE Word is simply God’s mind which has now become incarnate, made flesh in this person, Jesus the Christ. 

But the Word is so much more for John, it is The Light. 

The Word for the author of John is a Word above all other words, it is a Light above all other lights. 

But even in the early Christian church, John the Baptizer was a confusing character. 

He had many followers, usually drawing larger crowds and gaining more disciples than Jesus. 

So, the author of John attempts to clarify the role and purpose of John the Baptist as clearly as possible following John’s opening. 

The authority who has given John his role is specified in the Gospel today - God. 

His role or title is also specified in the Gospel for today -  witness.

John’s special abilities are outlined in the Gospel for today as well - NOTHING, zero, zilch. 

In fact, John’s gifts and appearance based on most descriptions is relatively lowly, even crude, but it is the office given to him by God that is to be so respected.

He is a witness to THE Word, THE Light. 

And that may seem relatively unimpressive until we find ourselves in a place devoid of all light. 

Because when we are in the darkest places, it’s odd how much you can crave light. 

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

I used to go spelunking or caving on a regular basis in a place called Bowden Cave. 

Friends and I would wade through underwater pools, crawl through narrow spaces, and rappel down underground cliffs. 

I got the jitters a few times when I was in a particularly tight space or when I got a little bit turned around. 

I had always read carefully about the precautions that should be taken to ensure the safety of you and your group, but we probably weren’t always as careful as we should have been. 

I did feel uneasy about how much light I carried with me though, and no matter how many batteries or spare lights I carried, I never felt like it was enough. 

Sometimes when we explored the deepest rooms of Bowden’s depths, we would turn off our lights just to take in the darkness. 

It was so dark beneath the surface of the earth, that the darkness felt almost like a weight on your eyes and even your body. 

All your other senses were amplified to such an extent, it was easy to see how one could be drawn towards sounds of water, rocks, or bats if you ran out of light. 

We had all heard horror stories of people being drawn deeper and deeper into the cave when they ran out of light. 

Drawn toward any sound or even an intuition, in the hope that there was light just around the bend, but finding none. 

It is hard to explain, but that kind of darkness always terrified me. 

Not because of the darkness, but because of the hopelessness one would feel in such a desperate situation. 

Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash

John’s situation is a difficult one. 

Because many have been drawn to John and his ministry, craving something that will provide order in the midst of chaos,

stability in the midst of uncertainty, 

purpose in the midst of meaninglessness, 

reason in the midst of ignorance, 

Light in the midst of darkness. 

What they are seeking is THE Word.

And both the author of John and John the Baptist know that John’s task is to assure all people that such a Light, such a Word is on its way. 

But when we are sitting alone in the darkness we can be drawn to all kinds of things, mistaking them for light and only finding ourselves being drawn deeper into darkness. 

John knows he is not the light and in our Gospel reading take note that he is not called to SHOW anyone this Light. 

John is called to testify to the validity of this Word as the authoritative Word, the very mind of God in the flesh. 

He is only called to testify to them, so that they may believe through him, NOT SEE through him!

He isn’t called to SHOW them the Light, he is called to be the means by which they will believe in that light, 

patiently waiting in the darkness rather than being drawn deeper and deeper away from the light. 

And John is a man of God, given a task by God but he knows that if he is mistaken for the Light, he will draw the world away from the Hope that he is announcing. 

Sisters and brothers, Christmas is fun. 

Believe it or not, I really and truly do love this time of year. 

But if all the trees and wreaths and stockings and mistletoe and carols and large, bearded, diabetic men in red suits don’t help us follow our call to point toward the true Light and Word of God, 

If impatiently pushing people into a “Merry Christmas” doesn’t draw them into the true Hope we are patiently awaiting at Advent. 

Then maybe this journey needs to take longer?

Maybe we need to stop asking if we are there yet and just enjoy the journey?

Because maybe we just aren’t ready yet?

But that’s okay, we still have a little bit to go. 

Maybe we can share the map with the rest of the world, inviting them to join us for the last leg of this ride. 

Amen

Photo by Julentto Photography on Unsplash

Sources

Barclay, William. 2001. The Gospel of John: The New Daily Study Bible. Revised, Updated edition. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.