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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2007

THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Matthew 11:2-11 (The billboard over our head)

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TODAY’S SERMON THEME:

Every day of our lives, we “witness” to others about the things that are most important in our lives. Whether we realize it or not, we walk around each day with a giant billboard over our heads. In our thoughts, in our words, in our actions, we demonstrate to others what is of ultimate importance in our lives. During this Advent season, what does YOUR billboard say?

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1. Every year at this time, I think about the many, many people who have influenced my life. Advent is a wonderful time for memories. And every year at this time I am surprised at the people I remember. This past week I found myself thinking about a retired professor of English at the University of Tennessee -- a man I spoke to only briefly, way back in 1977. I believe his name was Dr. Johnson, and even though I barely knew him, he taught me an important lesson about life. It was a strange and funny lesson. Here is how it happened:

(1) I was working in 1977 as a reporter for the morning newspaper in Memphis, Tennessee. I was assigned to cover a murder case in state district court. And it was in that courtroom that I had my one -- and only -- encounter with Dr. Johnson.

(2) Dr. Johnson was one of the members of the jury pool being interviewed by the attorneys in the case. The interviews took place in the part of a trial known as the “voir dire” -- to speak the truth. The purpose was to provide the attorneys with enough information about prospective jurors to make intelligent use of their peremptory challenges. It is the part of the trial known as jury selection.

(3) Dr. Johnson cleared the first part of the general questioning by the lawyers, and he made it to the final part of the selection process -- where attorneys are allowed to question potential jurors one-on-one.

(4) I will NEVER forget the way Dr. Johnson carried himself, the way he answered questions, the way he spoke with great precision and dignity, and the way he gave witness to the greatest passion in his life.

(5) Quite frankly, during the one-on-one questions, he began CORRECTING THE GRAMMAR that the attorneys used in asking him questions. It was some of the most hilarious courtroom drama I have ever seen. At one point, the young prosecutor asked Dr. Johnson about the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution -- about the right of people to keep and bear arms. Dr. Johnson said he was OPPOSED to individuals having unlimited access to weapons, that he had CAMPAIGNED in Washington against such access.

(6) The prosecutor responded by saying: “And what on earth would have possessed you to have DID something like that?” The good professor replied, with a strident tone in his voice: “What possessed me to have DID that? What possessed me to have DID that? Young man, English grammar is very precise. Verb tenses are very precise. And unless you are SPECIFIC about a delineated point in time, to which you are obviously referring, then it is linguistically impossible to be precise analytically in responding to ANY specific question.” Or words to this effect.

(7) The prosecutor was shocked, so he appealed to the judge. “Your honor, would you PLEASE ask this witness to answer my question, and also to quit correcting my grammar!” Before the judge could speak, the old professor said: “Young man, I have been correcting people’s grammar for 45 years, and I am not about to stop today. And besides that, you have asked me THREE separate questions, not one. And do you propose that I respond to them SEQUENTIALLY or in INVERSE ORDER?”

The young prosecutor looked at the judge and said: “Your honor, this juror is excused.”

2. On that day, Dr. Johnson showed me what a WITNESS is supposed to do. He witnessed to all of us about his LOVE of the English language. A witness, by definition, is someone who provides first-hand knowledge or information about something he has seen or heard. A witness is someone who testifies to the TRUTH of a particular situation or event. A witness is someone who KNOWS what he or she is talking about. A witness is someone who SHEDS THE LIGHT OF TRUTH. All of these things are textbook definitions of a witness. BUT LET US LOOK FURTHER . . . A witness points verbally and nonverbally to something he has experienced first-hand. Witnessing can be done by thoughts, by words, by actions -- by facial expressions, by body language, by tone of voice, by hand gestures, by overall demeanor. In a very important way, we witness every day to the things that are truthful and most important in our lives. Let me say that again -- because it is the major point I want to make this morning:

3. In our Gospel lesson this morning, we have an exchange -- through intermediaries -- between John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus. Now, if EVER there were two people who gave witness to the things of ultimate importance in their lives, it would be Jesus and John the Baptist. As we have seen in Matthew’s Gospel already during Advent, John came with a simple and a strident message: TURN AWAY FROM YOUR SINS AND PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD. Everything that John said and did focused on the One who is coming -- the One who will be king, judge, ruler, the anointed One of God. John lived out his days as a testimony to repentance, to the cleansing of one’s heart to receive the Lord. In our lesson this morning, John’s passion for repentance -- for holiness of life -- has brought him to prison, under arrest by Herod Antipas. Now, we know that Herod will eventually order John’s execution (by beheading him); but in this passage, John sends messengers to Jesus to ask IF HE IS THE ONE. “Are YOU the ONE? Or should we look for another?” Jesus answers in the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Go and tell John what you see. The blind see. The lame walk. The lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear. The dead are raised. And the poor have Good News preached to them.” These were the classic identifiers of the Messiah. The prophetic words that describe God’s chosen One. Clearly, the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus. He was doing, and accomplishing, EVERYTHING that Scripture said the Messiah would do and accomplish. HE BORE WITNESS IN EVERYTHING HE SAID AND DID TO IDENTIFY HIM AS THE ONE WHO IS GOD’S MESSIAH. The message Jesus sent to John confirmed this. So did His public actions. So did His healings. His teachings. He was, and is, precisely the One foretold by the prophets.

4. John the Baptist, in point of fact, already knew this. After all, he is the one who said of Jesus, two years earlier: “HE MUST INCREASE, AND I MUST DECREASE (John 1).” Everything about John testified to the Messiah, just as though he had a large billboard over his head announcing that fact. Just as everything Jesus said and did testified to His own identity, just as though HE had a large billboard over HIS head announcing that fact. Just as the apostles of the Lord carried the Gospel into the world as though THEY had large billboards over their heads. And just as Dr. Johnson, in Memphis, TN, testified to his love of English as though HE had a large billboard over his head announcing it.

5. So. At this precise moment -- Sunday, December 16, 2007 -- who or what are YOU witnessing for? What does the billboard over YOUR head say? Whether we realize it or not, we are carrying billboards over our heads -- through our thoughts, words, and actions -- that testify or witness to the things (or persons) that are most important in our lives.

6. Two quick stories: (1) About 20 years ago, two of my graduate students at Texas A&M University came to my office with a great discovery. They had been lab partners for an entire semester . . . And they had suddenly discovered, at the end of the semester, that they were both Christians, and that they were both Episcopalians. They were VERY impressed with their discovery. But I was not. I asked them: WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG TO FIND OUT? (2) Nine years ago, in Houston, two women came to me with wonderful news. They had just discovered, after living next-door to each other for six months, that they were both Episcopalian. And, since my parish was closest to their homes, they came to me to share the great news. And, of course, I was also excited . . . For about 30 seconds. And then I asked them: WHY DID IT TAKE SIX MONTHS TO FIGURE THIS OUT?

During this Advent season, what does YOUR billboard say?