to bring good news . . .
3rd Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; John 1:6-8, 19-28
Have you ever listened to an argument and not only understood all the points of view, but rather agreed with all of them? I’ve been listening to this debate – you know, this debate as to whether people ought to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays,” and I’ve formed an opinion – I think they’re all right – well, except the ones on the far fringes that think that anyone who doesn’t agree with their opinion is “worthy of death.”
I mean, I agree with those who think we should be tolerant enough of other faiths that we acknowledge and even accommodate our Jewish and Muslim friends during this time of celebration. And I understand and agree with my Christian brothers and sisters who think that this celebration of Christ’s birth is worthy of our full attention, and a well placed “Merry Christmas” never really hurt anyone. And I certainly understand and agree with most people who find this a silly thing to argue about when there are so many important things that we could be arguing about this time of the year – like, “who will win the Rose Bowl.”
Seriously, I learned a long time ago that the meaning of this season of the year suggests that we seek to do what Jesus would do, and acknowledge our neighbor above ourselves. This actually was one of the most important lessons taught to me by my parents and the Jewish neighbors across the street from us during my teen years, Dr. and Mrs. Shapiro. Dr. Ed and Ruth would bring Christmas gifts over to us, and wish us a hearty “Merry Christmas,” and we would return a fruit basket to their home, and wish them a Joyous Chanukah” – each party acknowledging the other’s faith tradition. We knew that acknowledging their personal faith did not in any way diminish our own faith practice, nor was it an indicator of our sincerity as Christian people.
That having been said, I take notice that we encounter John the Baptist for the second week in a row, and I have to wonder, “Are the lectionary writers trying to remind us of something?” Could it be that they are reminding Christian people that the most important part of the gospel message is the proclamation of that message?
I’m not just picking at nits this morning. No, there’s scripture to back up my point. The psalmist makes reference to the return of captives, whose “mouth was filled with laughter, and tongues with joyful shouting.” He goes on to say that those who “sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.” Some among the Christian community would re-write that verse to say that those “sow with tears shall reap with joy,” but they would leave off the most important part of the joy – the “shouting” – the “proclamation.”
The Old Testament lesson comes from Isaiah, who proclaims that “the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners.” There is a message to be brought. There is a message to be proclaimed. We don’t just experience the joy of the season – we are to proclaim that joy!!
Just a couple of weeks ago, I sang again with the Enid Symphonic Choir as we presented the annual Christmas music. I’ve done this four years now, and I’ve learned much of the music we perform. You can count on Doug Newell to remind us when we sing “Joy to the World” that we are proclaiming joy to the world, and that our faces, our voices, our entire countenances ought to reflect that joy. He describes it as an explosion of joy.
You noticed that today we lit the pink candle. This is the Sunday in Advent known as Gaudette Sunday. It refers to the theme of rejoicing found in the readings, such as Philippians, Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice. And also from the prophet Zephaniah, Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout O Israel! Rejoice and exult.
And we do rejoice. But we do so very much more than rejoice. We announce our rejoicing. We proclaim our rejoicing. Like the prophet, we are anointed people, because the Spirit is upon us, and we “bring good news.” We can’t do it with silent voices. We take issue with those who claim that our beliefs are a private matter, and that we don’t tell others about our beliefs because we don’t want to offend. Let me ask you – are you offended when a Jewish person or a Muslim person speaks to you about their faith? I’m not. I’m not in the least. Their faith practice doesn’t offend me. In fact, their expression of their faith causes me to want to express my faith all the more. Why should we feel bad about expressing our faith? To be certain, there’s a difference between expressing our faith and trying to force our faith on someone else - or even worse, trying to coerce someone else into an expression of faith. That is not what Christian people do. But neither do we timidly hide our faith. That which we know to be true – that which we believe to be true – we proclaim.
Just what are we to proclaim? There is so very much to say. There is so very much to tell. I am astonished by the variety contained in our proclamation. Back to Isaiah – listen to just a few things. We are to bring (1) good news. We are to (2) bind up brokenhearted people. You and I know a lot of brokenhearted people this time of the year. We are to (3) proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. We know a lot of those people, too. We are to (4) proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. We are to (5) proclaim the day of vengeance of our God.
If we step over to the epistle for today, we are reminded that we are to (6) rejoice always, that (7) we have the opportunity to pray without ceasing, and that we are to (8) give thanks for everything. And should we return to the Psalm, we can be reminded that (9) the Lord has done great things for us.
And then we could spend a great deal of time back in the Isaiah passage, being reminded of our (10) garments of salvation, and our (11) robes of righteousness. We have so very much to proclaim. Frankly, were we to ask for testimonies this morning, we would go on and on with the blessings of God for which we are all truly thankful.
We take notice just who our audience is. We notice that we are to proclaim this news to afflicted, brokenhearted, captive prisoners. I saw a report on CNN on Friday about the man out of Atlanta who was falsely imprisoned 24 years ago for rape. I say falsely, because DNA testing proved just this month that the man was not guilty of the crime. The part of this story I want to comment on is the reaction of the man. They were interviewing him outside the courthouse as he was being released, and the reporters were asking him if he was bitter or angry or anything of the sort, and he replied, “No, I’m not angry. I’m just so very happy to be back with my family.” He didn’t have to say a word, really. You could see the joy all over his face. He was ecstatic. He couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. His release had been proclaimed, and he was experiencing the joy of his freedom from captivity.
We’ve heard these stories – we’ve even experienced the joy of being released from some personal captivity. But the message of God’s redemption is broader than that. Some years ago, I was learning something about sharing my faith by attending some particular class on evangelism. The person leading the class made an important statement to me that has stuck with me – partly because I understand the truth of what he was trying to say, and partly because I understand our seriously convoluted his point was. He said, “When you are trying to help someone find salvation, first, you have to get them lost.” His point was well taken – why would anyone accept the salvation offered by Christ unless they felt they seriously needed it? His point was that a part of the process of helping someone come to salvation was helping them to realize the tragedy of their situation. Here’s where I differed with him on his point – I’ve met so very few people who seriously thought that they weren’t in need of Christ’s salvation. For most of us, it’s not a long step to realize that we are in need. When we honestly evaluate our lives, we realize that we need something, and the good news – the gospel – is that Jesus is that something - rather that Someone – that we need.
I’ll tell you something. My friend, Robert Capon, says that Jesus came to save the least, the lost, the last – the real losers of the world. I want you to look around the room this morning. We might look like we have it together – like we’re reasonably successful – but the people you’re looking at in this room this morning are the least, the lost, the last. And as you make your way from store to store, from party to party over the coming weeks, you will encounter more of the same – people who are the least, the lost, the last.
I want us to do something as an exercise in reality this morning. I want you to look on the back of your bulletin with me – the scriptures are there, and I want you to look at the gospel – the first three verses of the gospel lesson. And I want you to change the names that are there, and the pronoun if you have to – so, in my case, it will read, “There came a man, sent from God, whose name was Richard. He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. Richard was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.” And for Leslee, it will read, “There came a woman, sent from God whose name was Leslee. She came for a witness that she might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through her. Leslee was not the light, but came that she might bear witness of the light.” And for Mike and Mary and John and the other Mikes and the other Mary’s – the message is the same. We came to bear witness to the light.
And His name is Jesus.
Richard W. Dunn, PhD.
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; John 1:6-8, 19-28
Have you ever listened to an argument and not only understood all the points of view, but rather agreed with all of them? I’ve been listening to this debate – you know, this debate as to whether people ought to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays,” and I’ve formed an opinion – I think they’re all right – well, except the ones on the far fringes that think that anyone who doesn’t agree with their opinion is “worthy of death.”
I mean, I agree with those who think we should be tolerant enough of other faiths that we acknowledge and even accommodate our Jewish and Muslim friends during this time of celebration. And I understand and agree with my Christian brothers and sisters who think that this celebration of Christ’s birth is worthy of our full attention, and a well placed “Merry Christmas” never really hurt anyone. And I certainly understand and agree with most people who find this a silly thing to argue about when there are so many important things that we could be arguing about this time of the year – like, “who will win the Rose Bowl.”
Seriously, I learned a long time ago that the meaning of this season of the year suggests that we seek to do what Jesus would do, and acknowledge our neighbor above ourselves. This actually was one of the most important lessons taught to me by my parents and the Jewish neighbors across the street from us during my teen years, Dr. and Mrs. Shapiro. Dr. Ed and Ruth would bring Christmas gifts over to us, and wish us a hearty “Merry Christmas,” and we would return a fruit basket to their home, and wish them a Joyous Chanukah” – each party acknowledging the other’s faith tradition. We knew that acknowledging their personal faith did not in any way diminish our own faith practice, nor was it an indicator of our sincerity as Christian people.
That having been said, I take notice that we encounter John the Baptist for the second week in a row, and I have to wonder, “Are the lectionary writers trying to remind us of something?” Could it be that they are reminding Christian people that the most important part of the gospel message is the proclamation of that message?
I’m not just picking at nits this morning. No, there’s scripture to back up my point. The psalmist makes reference to the return of captives, whose “mouth was filled with laughter, and tongues with joyful shouting.” He goes on to say that those who “sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.” Some among the Christian community would re-write that verse to say that those “sow with tears shall reap with joy,” but they would leave off the most important part of the joy – the “shouting” – the “proclamation.”
The Old Testament lesson comes from Isaiah, who proclaims that “the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners.” There is a message to be brought. There is a message to be proclaimed. We don’t just experience the joy of the season – we are to proclaim that joy!!
Just a couple of weeks ago, I sang again with the Enid Symphonic Choir as we presented the annual Christmas music. I’ve done this four years now, and I’ve learned much of the music we perform. You can count on Doug Newell to remind us when we sing “Joy to the World” that we are proclaiming joy to the world, and that our faces, our voices, our entire countenances ought to reflect that joy. He describes it as an explosion of joy.
You noticed that today we lit the pink candle. This is the Sunday in Advent known as Gaudette Sunday. It refers to the theme of rejoicing found in the readings, such as Philippians, Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice. And also from the prophet Zephaniah, Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout O Israel! Rejoice and exult.
And we do rejoice. But we do so very much more than rejoice. We announce our rejoicing. We proclaim our rejoicing. Like the prophet, we are anointed people, because the Spirit is upon us, and we “bring good news.” We can’t do it with silent voices. We take issue with those who claim that our beliefs are a private matter, and that we don’t tell others about our beliefs because we don’t want to offend. Let me ask you – are you offended when a Jewish person or a Muslim person speaks to you about their faith? I’m not. I’m not in the least. Their faith practice doesn’t offend me. In fact, their expression of their faith causes me to want to express my faith all the more. Why should we feel bad about expressing our faith? To be certain, there’s a difference between expressing our faith and trying to force our faith on someone else - or even worse, trying to coerce someone else into an expression of faith. That is not what Christian people do. But neither do we timidly hide our faith. That which we know to be true – that which we believe to be true – we proclaim.
Just what are we to proclaim? There is so very much to say. There is so very much to tell. I am astonished by the variety contained in our proclamation. Back to Isaiah – listen to just a few things. We are to bring (1) good news. We are to (2) bind up brokenhearted people. You and I know a lot of brokenhearted people this time of the year. We are to (3) proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. We know a lot of those people, too. We are to (4) proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. We are to (5) proclaim the day of vengeance of our God.
If we step over to the epistle for today, we are reminded that we are to (6) rejoice always, that (7) we have the opportunity to pray without ceasing, and that we are to (8) give thanks for everything. And should we return to the Psalm, we can be reminded that (9) the Lord has done great things for us.
And then we could spend a great deal of time back in the Isaiah passage, being reminded of our (10) garments of salvation, and our (11) robes of righteousness. We have so very much to proclaim. Frankly, were we to ask for testimonies this morning, we would go on and on with the blessings of God for which we are all truly thankful.
We take notice just who our audience is. We notice that we are to proclaim this news to afflicted, brokenhearted, captive prisoners. I saw a report on CNN on Friday about the man out of Atlanta who was falsely imprisoned 24 years ago for rape. I say falsely, because DNA testing proved just this month that the man was not guilty of the crime. The part of this story I want to comment on is the reaction of the man. They were interviewing him outside the courthouse as he was being released, and the reporters were asking him if he was bitter or angry or anything of the sort, and he replied, “No, I’m not angry. I’m just so very happy to be back with my family.” He didn’t have to say a word, really. You could see the joy all over his face. He was ecstatic. He couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. His release had been proclaimed, and he was experiencing the joy of his freedom from captivity.
We’ve heard these stories – we’ve even experienced the joy of being released from some personal captivity. But the message of God’s redemption is broader than that. Some years ago, I was learning something about sharing my faith by attending some particular class on evangelism. The person leading the class made an important statement to me that has stuck with me – partly because I understand the truth of what he was trying to say, and partly because I understand our seriously convoluted his point was. He said, “When you are trying to help someone find salvation, first, you have to get them lost.” His point was well taken – why would anyone accept the salvation offered by Christ unless they felt they seriously needed it? His point was that a part of the process of helping someone come to salvation was helping them to realize the tragedy of their situation. Here’s where I differed with him on his point – I’ve met so very few people who seriously thought that they weren’t in need of Christ’s salvation. For most of us, it’s not a long step to realize that we are in need. When we honestly evaluate our lives, we realize that we need something, and the good news – the gospel – is that Jesus is that something - rather that Someone – that we need.
I’ll tell you something. My friend, Robert Capon, says that Jesus came to save the least, the lost, the last – the real losers of the world. I want you to look around the room this morning. We might look like we have it together – like we’re reasonably successful – but the people you’re looking at in this room this morning are the least, the lost, the last. And as you make your way from store to store, from party to party over the coming weeks, you will encounter more of the same – people who are the least, the lost, the last.
I want us to do something as an exercise in reality this morning. I want you to look on the back of your bulletin with me – the scriptures are there, and I want you to look at the gospel – the first three verses of the gospel lesson. And I want you to change the names that are there, and the pronoun if you have to – so, in my case, it will read, “There came a man, sent from God, whose name was Richard. He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. Richard was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.” And for Leslee, it will read, “There came a woman, sent from God whose name was Leslee. She came for a witness that she might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through her. Leslee was not the light, but came that she might bear witness of the light.” And for Mike and Mary and John and the other Mikes and the other Mary’s – the message is the same. We came to bear witness to the light.
And His name is Jesus.
Richard W. Dunn, PhD.
posted by the sojourning pilgrim | 12:42 PM
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