The Road Opener
Mark 1:1-8
Last week we were talking
about preparing ourselves for the coming of Jesus Christ. It is a time of
preparation. Hope, having the hope of God’s glory is one of the ways we
prepare in this season of Advent.
Today we have a new and unusual
character: John the Baptist. He has the message of preparing ourselves to
meet Jesus. He is the road opener.
What can we learn from
John’s life?
1. John the Baptist
prepared us to see Jesus by living a GODLY LIFE.
He lived what he preached. Do
you remember? We spoke about this under the word Hypocrisy. Well, John did fight against the hypocrisy. John
lived a special life which was effective.
People came to him. He welcomed them and baptized them. But he
also used strong words when he saw hypocrisy. When the religious people
came to him, he told them: “O generation of vipers ….” He did not compromise
the message depending on his audience. John’s devotion to God was firm
and complete. God honors such a way of life.
Voltaire was an atheist. Once someone asked
him whether God has any place in his life at all.
Voltaire said: “Yes, because
of one person, Fletcher.”
Fletcher? Who is John Fletcher? He was friend of John Wesley’s.
John trusted him. He was a simple man of faith. Wesley wanted Fletcher to be in
charge of the Methodist after his death. However, Fletcher died before John
Wesley did, and in his funeral John Wesley said that this man was perfect.
Historians said that John Fletcher had a strong impact because of his goodness.
He was a MAN of GOD. His lifestyle did matter.
I know a man in
How? How he can be an angel without words? His lifestyle matters.
St. Francis of Assisi said: “Preach
Christ at all times; if necessary, use words!”
2. John the Baptist prepared
the way for the coming of the Jesus by going into the wilderness.
It is a time of joy, hope,
love and peace. This is Christmas time. Who wants to talk about the wilderness?
Yes, it is a time of joy,
hope, love and peace. Yet the definition of these words can be different
than that of the world.
John went into the wilderness.
He was away from noise and rush of those days especially from religious people.
I feel already that the “Christmas rush” is behind us pushing us to think
about everything except Jesus.
The latest fashion is what
to call a Christmas tree.
Sometimes, I am astonished by
the diverse ideas about this tree. In any case, the tree does not have anything
to do with the Biblical story of Christmas; it is just a tradition. People are
offended of hearing the word “Christmas.” I am hearing that some powerful
preachers and pastors are asking their congregation not to buy things from mega
stores which are not using the word Christmas. And now some stores are changing
the word back to Christmas. Some are apologizing that they printed the cards by
using the word holiday. Next year they will correct.
The irony of all this mess is
that the shoppers’ and business owners’ concern is economy.
John is calling us
from the wilderness. In the Bay
Area one can not feel the wilderness. You are surrounded by green trees. Some
of you lived in
Let me quote Deuteronomy
8:2-3
“Remember how the Lord
your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and
test you … He humbles you, causing you to hunger and then feeding
you with Manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that
man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of
the Lord.”
You see it is a time to
reflect and prepare. And I wonder if we have time for such a period of
reflection and meditation. I wonder how many of us take time for daily quiet
time and prayer.
You know sometimes we feel
secure in this “busy-rush- Christmas” time. We hide in being
busy. As if God does not see us. We don’t see God, but can you hide
from GOD? God loves you. He wants you to go to the “wilderness” of silence and
hunger, so that you will be fed by Manna, God’s food. This
is God’s special recipe for “Christmas cake.” You can not find it in Safeway or
any stores. John the Baptist is inviting us to be prepared from this perspective:
the VOICE FROM WILDERNESS. It could be in your room, you
do not have to go to the actual wilderness. But find time to spend ALONE with God.
3. John is prepared us to
meet Jesus by asking us to repent.
Repentance means confronting
sin. John the Baptist was someone who can not be silent when there is sin. He
lost his life because he challenged even the KING. King Herod was in a wrong
relationship. He was seduced by his brother’s wife. Religious leaders were
silent about it. Not John the Baptist.
Apostle Paul writes about sin
in Hebrews 12:1-2:
“Throw off everything
that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,” and “let us fix our eyes on
Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”
Two parts:
Throw off things that HINDER.
These could be good things in our lives. It is interesting that the writer starts
not with sin which is very dangerous, but with things that HINDER. These things
could be very positive things. But they hinder you from Jesus.
Let me tell you the pressure
of the Christmas gifts. We all are victim of this.
The more we have, the more we
are picky of what I want and what you want. We have everything but still we buy
things. Can someone explain to me this trap?
Gifts, inviting
people, cooking, buying more than your budget, Christmas concerts, traveling,
watching TV, positive things.
Please, look and examine your life. What is HINDERING you?
Next part is sin. John the
Baptist’s main concern was repentance from SIN.
“Sin that easily entangles..” Envy, selfishness, not forgiving others,
hate, disobedience to God, undisciplined life. You can read about fruits of the
flesh in Galatians 5:19-21
You can not throw off these
sins without Jesus. Even John the Baptist forwarded his mission to Jesus. He
said: “After me will come one more powerful than I… I am baptizing you with
water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. (Mark 1:7-8)
There is no better way to be
ready for Christmas than repentance. As long as we live in flesh, we all are
vulnerable to sin. So come to God with repentance.
Let us summarize:
Let us be the voice from
the wilderness calling for the coming of the KING Jesus Christ Our Lord. John
was the ROAD Opener, we too should open our doors and hearts for the coming
EVENT.
Let us live a GODLY LIFE,
Let us go to the
“wilderness” for time of reflection and meditation.
Let us repent and throw
off whatever is hindering us and
Let us throw off the sin
which easily entangles us.
Amen