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Third Sunday of Advent (Advent 3B) Sunday, December 14, 2008 Gospel: John 1: 6-8, 19-28 The Witness Highlighted Verses: John 1: 6-8, 19-28
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. This is the
testimony
given by John
when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who
are
you?” 20He confessed and did
not deny it, but confessed, “I am not
the Messiah.” 21And they asked him,
“What then? Are you Elijah?” He
said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22Then they
said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us.
What do
you say about yourself?” 23He said, “I am the
voice of one crying
out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the
prophet
Isaiah said. 24Now they had been
sent
from the Pharisees. 25They
asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah,
nor
Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26John answered them,
“I
baptize with
water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27the one who is
coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” 28This
took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. We've
lit another candle! Today is the third Sunday of Advent. Only one more
to light until we've reached the week of Christmas.
Today's Gospel reading is very interesting, because it's sort of a continuation of last week's - only in a different book. (We have two versions of the same story.) You might remember that last week we read the very first verses of the Gospel of Mark - and we met an interesting character: John the Baptist. Do you remember what last week's lesson said John ate? Locusts (which are a kind of insect) and wild honey. Yuck. Well, his favorite meal aside - we learned last week that John was very important to the people - but as even he explained - not nearly as special as someone who was coming after him. Remember who? That's right - Jesus. And you'll notice that again this week John says that he's not even important enough to bend down and untie Jesus' sandals. This week he says something else. He says that he's a witness and that he's come to testify. Have you heard those words someplace before? What is a witness? (Solicit children's answers.) That's right - a witness is someone who knows something important. Sometimes you hear them spoken about in court. When there are problems to be solved by judges, often they ask witnesses to come and tell what they know. When they do, we call this testifying. And what John is testifying here is important. The people are wondering just who he is. They know he's awfully special and so they ask whether he might be the Son of God. But John explains carefully that he is not. He tells them that he is not the one they are waiting for. And just like last week, John tells the people to get ready - that the real Son of God is coming. And that's what Advent is all about. Getting ready for Jesus' coming at Christmas. Are you almost ready? Good. Let's pray. Dear God, As Christmas approaches, help us to prepare our hearts for the coming of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Copyright 2008 - The Children's Sermon.Com |
