SCRIPTURE: Mark 1:1-8
TEXT: 4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. THEME: Living faithfully can help others make the connection of Jesus being the Christ. INTRODUCTION I usually don’t borrow large sections of someone else’s writing for a sermon but Courtney V. Buggs in her Sermon Brainwave commentary on this passage beautifully described the forerunner. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Louisville Postdoctoral Fellow, at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana. SCRIPTURE She writes, “On August 1, 2020, the Sarah K. Evans Plaza opened in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.1 Evans, known formerly as Private Evans, is now 91 years old, and reflects on the seemingly unremarkable event that has led to public recognition almost 70 years later. In 1952 Private Evans was on her way home from her first military assignment, when she refused to move to the back of the bus. Upon refusing, she was taken to jail and detained for 13 hours. Evans sued the Interstate Commerce Commission for discrimination. Despite a judicial victory in November of 1955, the ruling was not enforced until 1961. Meanwhile, in March of 1955, a young black teenager, Claudette Colvin, refused to give up her bus seat to a white person. Having been exposed to the actions of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman, Colvin was emboldened to resist the injustice she experienced on the city bus. As a result, she was handcuffed and arrested. And like Evans, her story was hidden until recent years. Before there was a Rosa Parks, the Civil Rights icon attributed with prompting the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, there was Sarah Evans and Claudette Colvin. These trailblazing young women set in motion that which would be later attributed to Parks. Their names are scarcely, if at all, associated with the Civil Rights Movement, yet their actions precipitated one of the most pivotal events of the time. Evans preceded Colvin who preceded Parks. Just as John preceded Jesus. Forerunners are often unseen figures and unsung heroes. Their back stories are unknown. The details of their lives are under imagined or undervalued. They garner minimal attention, because they are forerunners—those who plow the ground, destabilize the terrain, and make ready for change that is to come. They are not The One; they are those who come before The One. Every movement needs those who function as the advance team, that is, those who prepare the way for something beyond the present state of affairs. In today’s reading we find John preparing the way for Jesus. One homiletical entry for this text is to emphasize the necessity of those who are antecedents of change, setting the stage for an alternative future.” End of quote. APPLICATION This made me think, “How could our lives be forerunners, for people to peer into the manger to see the baby, and see the Son of God?” Wear Christmas T shirts to show that you are all about Christmas. Be pleasant while we shop in a crowded store so that Christmas Cheer is the love of God. Wear a mask, as uncomfortable and inconvenient as it may be, because this act of loving others has benefits in keeping the virus from spreading to us too. This is another, of the few ways, guys have to accessorize their look. Participate in acts of kindness and generosity, like volunteering at our Food Pantry. Be happy, trusting in God and let people see you smile. As well as sad, and how you deal with your feelings with God’s help. Be a person of gratitude. Our praise always points to the activity of God and Jesus in our lives. Don’t be afraid to pray. I received a group email of a classmate’s death and responded with a composed prayer. I hesitated sending it, but in the end, it was well received. Take what we believe seriously, not by speaking religious platitudes, but by finding practical ways to live what we believe about God as part of our everyday lives. We live devoted lives not religious ones. We wrestle with those things that distract us from God. Those things that take time that we could be spending with God in prayer, or reading the Bible, or learning about our faith, to keep our relationship with God fresh. As we turn toward God, we become a people of habits, rhythm, and mindfulness: grace before meals, prayer, meditation, contemplation, studying God’s Word as our morning routine, tithing on Sundays, stewardship with the things we have. Practicing reconciliation; admitting our fault, forgiving those who hurt us, asking forgiveness from those we have hurt. And by putting God’s ways into action; loving God and loving our neighbor. We can be advocates for God’s good, by getting in ‘good trouble’ Living into the freedom promised but not enforced as yet. Sitting beyond the lines of segregation of privilege. Adding our voice to those who have been ignored. Or to say something about the injustices we see. Then when the light of the candle on Christmas Eve, illuminates our faces, and our neighbor sees us, they may come to believe that the babe in the manger is really the Son of God. CONCLUSION Forerunners do seemingly unremarkable things, that set the stage for the remarkable. Just by living by the rules that nobody else is following. Or by having a faith that is real and lived every day, we set the stage for religion to become devotion and the Christmas story to become the God incarnate in our hearts. We are forerunners, antecedents of change, for an alternative future, with God’s rule of justice and love replacing our present state of affairs.
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