December 18, 2011

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John the Baptist Advent IV(Luke1:57-80)


A. Why the Bible introduces John the Baptist
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John." They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name." Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him. (57-66)
 
1) About the name "John"
 
2) The last prophet who prophesied about Jesus' coming
A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:3-5)
 
3) What John did
 
B. You are like John
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn [69] of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us-- to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel. (67-80)
 
1) You have been called to prepare the way for people's encounter with God
 
2) You have been called to invite people to repentance
 
3) You have been called to extend grace and to proclaim joy
 

Summary
We need to remember John the Baptist when we think of the Christmas story. The Gospels tell of John's birth as an important even that　leads up to the big news of Jesus' birth. Jesus received baptism from John at the beginning of his ministry. John the Baptist was the last　prophet who spoke of Jesus' birth. He spoke of the need for repentance and the need to receive salvation through Jesus in order to be　reconciled to God and to experience him as "God with us" or Emmanuel. We can help to prepare the way for others so that they, too, can encounter and experience God's grace.

For Discussion
1) What is the meaning of his (John's) name?
2) In what ways are we like John?