Anticipation to Arrival

Anticipation to Arrival – Potential to Practice John 1:29-42 Advent is / was a time of anticipation. We looked forward to the day, the arrival of Christmas Eve / Christmas Day, both the religious celebration and the family gatherings. On Christmas Eve I talked about my son Gabe being in one hand and my cat in the other, with the cat weighing more than Gabe and the far, far greater potential Gabe had compared to the cat. I also talked about the Baby Mary held in her arms and her saying, ‘My God, this is my God!” Then we sang the song Mary Did You Know which has the line, “when you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God.” The potential of Mary’s Baby is incomparable. As with Mary, we all have an excited anticipation for the arrival of a child. But once they arrive, is that moment frozen in time, or do they continue to grow and become the fulfillment of the promise of their lives? We would hope so. Our children, along with ourselves, have a potential from birth to our dying day. You and I still have potential for the remainder of our days. What it is may need to be realized. Our potential needs to be put into action. John the Baptist was also waiting for the arrival of the Messiah. When he saw Him coming down the road toward him, John had the divine insight to realize that this Jesus strolling toward him was the arrival of that Messiah. The first action we see in the passage, however, between John the Baptist and his followers, Andrew chief among them, was the failure of John's disciples to shift their allegiance from the proclaimer, John the Baptist, to the proclaimed One, Jesus the Christ. John had been hearing about this Jesus, and finally encounters Him who he had heralded the months and even the day before. His first words name Jesus with a distinctive title: "Lamb of God." This was a most uncommon title, which must have surprised as well as confused his disciples. It could have meant one or all of three things: 1) that Jesus was the Paschal Lamb, the sacrificial Lamb, a sign of deliverance for the Jewish people, or 2) He was the Lamb of the Suffering Servant passages of Isaiah (53:7), and a symbol of a willing sacrifice for God's people, or 3) this title was to recognize Jesus as the One spoken of in Jewish literature of a conquering Lamb that would come to destroy evil in the world. John may have also considered Jesus to be the return of the prophet Elijah, who had died 900 years before Him, or as the pre-existent Logos, as described in the first verses of the gospel. The meaning of these recognitions worked toward one goal; that being to shift the attention away from John the Baptist and toward his mission to Jesus as the fulfillment of his witness. 2 John concludes his testimony by recounting the astounding events of Jesus' baptism, His consecration of becoming the Son of God, with the descending dove affirming Jesus as the One who alone would baptize with the Holy Spirit. On the third and final day of John's revelations, he loops back to the title Lamb of God. Having provided a full introduction of Jesus to his disciples, John so much as ushers them to Jesus, with Andrew taking the lead in the transfer of devotion and service. With that, John's service is becoming fulfilled as in verse 7 it says, he "came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him." Finally in John 3:30, John the Baptist is heard to say, "He must increase, as I must decrease." That is John’s anticipation, that has turned into the joy of Jesus’ arrival, which is the fulfillment of John’s prophetic potential and the conclusion of his practice. Jesus has arrived, now John may exit stage right. With that, Jesus now asks John's disciples what it is they are looking for. They respond with "Rabbi." Rabbi was really more than just a teacher to the first-century Jew. It literally meant, "great one," or "master." Perhaps John, the gospel writer, provided the less lofty meaning of the term here to indicate how inadequately Jesus' disciples first understood their leader. By verse 40 John's disciples have clearly shifted their allegiance over to Jesus. The Baptist has succeeded. John had done such a good a job that these new disciples of Jesus immediately go out to call others to follow. However, to add to Jesus' resume of already being the Logos, Lamb, Son, Chosen One, and Rabbi, they introduce Him as the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ. Jesus now gets in on the act, for when He is introduced to Simon as the Messiah, Jesus changes Simon’s name to Cephas or Peter, calling him the rock. Thus begins the potential of a name, for him to become the same. Jesus detected enough of Peter's strength to name him as the future symbol of an unyielding person of faith. Names, and living up to them, are as important to us today as it was in biblical times. A name changes your perspective of yourself. Some people have titles before or after their names. Whether it is Reverend, or Doctor or Mrs. or Mr., whether you have a BS or MBA, a PhD or a DRO (for dropout), your perception of yourself will probably be influenced by the name and titles you may have. Earning these letters along with whatever other titles you may have, e.g., mother, father, wife, husband, widow or widower, daughter, brother, student, help define who you are and what identities you may assume. Sometimes we feel that once we have accomplished our goal, whether it is to be a parent, or a successful homemaker, an educated academic, or whatever, we may feel we have 3 arrived. Having arrived, though, is that where we stay? Is there no further potential or practice in our lives? You remember the story of Jacob and Esau, who were twins of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was born first, yet clutching to his heel was Jacob. Later on in life, Jacob tricked Esau into giving up his birthright as the firstborn in a moment of Esau’s weakness. Later still he tricked his father, with the blessing of his mother, into receiving the father's blessing as the first among the heirs. As you can imagine, there were those who were infuriated with him, so he fled for his own safety. He then encounters a heavenly visitor who he fears threatens him, and so he wrestles all night with this divine visitor seeking to know his name and to also receive his blessing. As dawn breaks, the stranger tries to go, but Jacob holds on, demanding a blessing. The angelic visitor asks Jacob his name and then gives him a new one, and with that, is gone. The new name he received was Israel, “one who holds on to God.” As he had held on to his brother's heel, so now he is known as the one who would wrestle with the divine, holding on for dear life. Jacob was exuberant, for he had his father's blessing, the inheritance of a nation and a new name. He felt he had arrived. But what had he arrived at? He arrived with a new potential and for a new practice. The new blessing which he wins from the angelic stranger is the identity of refusing to let go. The lifelong struggler held out. With the dawn of a new day, he had arrived at striving, putting his potential into practice. This is the same destination Simon has arrived at when Jesus renames him Peter, the Rock. As we all know, Peter was far from being a stalwart, dependable rock for Jesus. So why does Jesus declare this disciple, who will soon display all the fortitude of shifting sand, to be his rock? Because it too is a name to strive after, a name to wrestle with and struggle to attain. It is only after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection that Peter begins to truly inhabit his new name. Even as he stood firm and foundational for the emerging Christian church, Peter still knew that within his soul there remained sandy corners. But Peter, like Jacob, had arrived at the capacity to strive, with a potential to put into practice the unfolding promise of his life. Like Jacob, he had received a new name and a new identity, and hardly one of his own choosing. He was given a new name, for him to become the same. Living up to our names and titles we have acquired on earth is one of the toughest jobs we ever make for ourselves. But God has given us a way out of the ever-demanding vanity of this life, by giving us the one name that frees us from all others. That name and face is Jesus Christ, and it is through the power of that name that we can fully inhabit the names we have been given by the gift of the Christ. We are the sons and daughters of God, new 4 creations in Christ, and it is by His power in us, through faith, and the working of the Holy Spirit, that we can strive to live up to our name, that we can exercise our potential and put into practice the promise God has for our lives. There was a headline in one of those little streamers that cross the bottom of your TV screen during the news the other day. It noted a Pennsylvania church with a 221-year history that held its final service because of declining membership and attendance. The First Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, which is nearly as old as the borough itself, held the final scheduled service on Christmas Eve after having welcomed generations of families over the course of more than two centuries. The church was established in 1800 by the same men who founded Bellefonte in 1795 at a time when there were only 16 states and counted among its members two former Pennsylvania governors. Carol and I have been visiting numerous churches on our Sundays off and found them all, large and small, to have no more attendance than what we see every Sunday. As with the Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, attendance across the board is about 25 to 30 parishioners. I have to wonder if this is the level where potential has past, where the practice of making disciples has ceased, where churches close for lack of participation. This church in Bellefonte had dwindled over the years to a handful of faithful members and now suffers its demise due in part to COVID and closure. It may not be the first or the last. What I want to emphasize today is that we still have the potential and the practices to prosper in this New Year. Claim your name as a disciple in Christ, and as one making disciples for Christ. We have been given a new name, for others to become the same. G. K. Chesterson, a British novelist and critic, once said, "If God can make a saint out of someone like Simon Peter, maybe God can even do something with me." Can God do something with you? Can God do something with us, in this New Year? What does it take to call others to follow Christ? What does it take to change our perspective of ourselves as new creations in Christ? Having arrived, have we taken on that new identity? Do we wrestle with the divine for a blessing and an understanding of this life? What does it take - only the faith and conviction of a John, the joy and devotion of an Andrew, the striving of a Jacob, the redemption and perseverance of a Peter and the mind and heart that each of you have, that God can enter your lives and fill with His love and grace. You are the sons and daughters of God! What great thing is God going to do with you and me this new year? Let your life, let our lives together, show that in the striving there is the arriving, in potential there follows a practice to reach the promise and the satisfaction of God’s will for our lives.