Advent 2B 2023

Text: “7 And he preached, saying, ‘After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” (Mark 1:7-8)

I have to admit, I’ve always struggled with why John the Baptist makes such an appearance during this season of Advent. It’s not completely random— his purpose was to prepare the way for the Messiah and announce His coming. But his role seemed to stop there, at least in my mind.

But John the Baptist really is an important part of preparing to celebrate Jesus’ birth. It’s important because it has a big influence on the way we see that baby in the manger.

The birth of any baby is filled with a whirlwind of emotions, a huge mix of hopes and fears. Will he be bold or shy? Will she be athletic or academic? We’re anxious to find out. And when the child is born, part of the joy is getting to know him or her.

The same is, arguably, true of Christmas and the birth of Christ. It’s interesting that even the secular world around us is still well aware that the day is not just about the tree and the decorations and the presents— it’s about celebrating the birth of a child. And they don’t necessarily have a problem with that. For some, the little baby in the manger at Christmas is a symbol of everything that Christmas means to them.

I didn’t see it, but I understand that there was a movie several years back where the main character insisted on praying to “little baby Jesus.” I suspect that the reason for it is something like this the baby Jesus is far less threatening, far less challenging. Rather than potentially forcing us to change our thinking, let alone our actions, you and I get to remain in control. You can even project your hopes and fears, your likes and dislikes, upon Him.

We certainly see it in our public discourse. For as often as Christians are told to keep our faith out of any discussions of public policy, it’s interesting how often we’re told, in no uncertain, terms that Jesus would support a particular policy. One side assures us that He would be in favor of more immigration and the other side is quite certain He would advocate for less. One side assures us He would push for more care for the poor while the other side insists that He would reign it in. The little baby in the manger seems to be one of those ink-blot tests. What you see there says more about you than it says about Him. Or maybe He’s more like a projection screen. We each get to project our hopes and fears, our likes and dislikes upon Him.

It’s easy to do with a baby, after all. We don’t have to contend with His words or actions and try to reinterpret them to better suit us. In fact, in this case, we even get to write words like ‘peace’, ‘hope’, and ‘joy’ on Him in big, bold letters.

Yes, this is a perfect time to heed John the Baptist; to hear him declaring clearly who Jesus is and what He came for. Arguably, if you’re going to “keep Christ in Christmas,” you have to keep John the Baptist in it. Because the real question is, does his picture of Jesus match up with yours?

John declared, “7 ...After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie” (Mark 1:7). Does that little baby in the manger of your nativity scenes humble you? If not, then you might have failed to keep Christ in Christmas.

“4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). He said, “8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). Does getting ready for Christmas in your house only mean putting up lights and decorations? Or is it, also, a call for a change of heart— a call to hear the words of Christ, which lay bare even the hidden sins in your hearts, the sins of thoughts as well as actions, the good that you’ve failed to do as well as the evil that you’ve done? The words that accuse you of not loving even your enemies, that accuse you of casting stones even though you are far from being sinless? If it’s only about the lights and decorations, then you might have Christmas without Christ.

Repent and hear John the Baptist declaring to you and to all the world who it is that is coming. Jesus is not a blank slate for you to project your hopes and fears, your likes and dislikes upon. The little baby in the little manger in your nativity sets should not just humble you, it should evoke a powerful sense of awe and wonder. It represents the greatest mystery in human history— He is the eternal Son of God, come down to earth in human flesh. He has been for all eternity. Through Him all things were created. Without Him was nothing made that has been made. He laid the foundations of the earth. He determined its measurements; He set the stars in place and determined their courses; and one day He will return to judge the living and the dead. At His very name, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that He is Lord.

And, for a moment, He stepped down from all of it and chose to be born as a little child. The infinite God put Himself into human flesh; made Himself dependent upon the care, protection, and provision of a man and a woman; and He did it for you. The whole reason why He took on that human body was so that He could bear your sins in His body to the cross; so that He could suffer and die for you there.

He is all that John the Baptist says that He is. He has done all that John the Baptist declared that He would do, including causing you to be baptized with water combined with His Holy Spirit. No, He doesn’t allow Himself to be defined by you and me. He has redefined you by the power and promise of what He delivered to you in baptism— causing you to be born again there in the water of baptism by the power of the Holy Spirit, making you a child of God. You have put off the old self with its sinful practices and “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:9-10).

You don’t get to change who He is. He chose you and predestined you to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29).

Normally, you and I look at a little baby and see all the possibilities of who he or she will be. But, when you look at the baby in the manger, John the Baptist invites you to see the promise of who you are. In Him, you— who once bore the image of Adam (the man of dust)— now bear the image of the man of heaven (1 Corinthians 15:49). You have put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. And, now, even the sufferings that you endure in this life serve the purpose of shaping you into the image of Christ (1 Peter 1:6-9).

Just like that baby was born of the virgin through the work of the Holy Spirit, He gave you, by faith, the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13). Repent and put off the old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and be renewed in the spirit of your minds (Ephesians 4:22-23). Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24).

Keeping Christ in Christmas means keeping John the Baptist in Christmas. By all means, we revel in the lights and the decorations— and, I dare say, even a little bit of Christmas music— but getting ready for Christmas is also a call to hear the words of Christ, which lay bare even the hidden sins in your hearts, the sins of thoughts as well as actions, the good that you’ve failed to do as well as the evil that you’ve done, the words that accuse you of not loving your enemies, that accuse you of casting stones even though you are far from being sinless. Hear Him clearly because He was born to take all of those sins away.