John 1:6-9 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

Today we hear these ancient words of John. Both the gospel of John and John the Baptist--two separate people although easy to get confused.  John the Baptist, although never labeled as such in the gospel of John, is our signpost at the beginning of the journey of Advent.  He points and we look.  

It reminds me of something my dad would do when we were kids.  All four of us would be at the kitchen table and my dad would suddenly just look up at the ceiling.  Of course, we all would then look up.  And then my dad would be laughing, because there wasn’t anything up there, he was just tricking his gullible children.  

Well, John the Baptist points toward something much more meaningful than a spot of nothing on the ceiling.  But like my siblings and me, it’s hard to not follow John’s gaze.  

We learn in the gospel of John that the baptizer John was there to witness and testify.  If these words sound legal to you, it’s because they are.  John was building a case.  John was there to witness to the truth and light of the person of Jesus Christ.  This is in direct opposition to those who set out to build a case against Jesus.  

It is in the gospel of John that we hear the most about the plot to kill Jesus.  We hear about the smear campaign that placed Jesus in front of Pilate, the political maneuvering that sentenced him to death, even though as Pilate said, there was no case against him.  Jesus was framed.  

And so, even here at the beginning, we hear the testimony of John the Baptist.  The one who went ahead of Jesus, proclaiming his light.  John says look, the truth will be illuminated here, in this story we tell about Jesus.  You will see how he was light and life. It’s not what those people said.  Let me tell you the truth.

The light that John brought wasn’t the cozy blur of Christmas tree lights. This is the bright light of investigative truth.  John the Baptist is a spotlight, turned toward the injustice of the world.  

He is a witness.  

I am here today to make a case to you that Advent is not just a cozy season of hot chocolate and Christmas lights.  Advent is a season of testimony where we are called to rise up and testify against all that is untrue and hidden in the secrecy of night.  

Maybe you see where I’m going with this. 

Because I could help but read this witness of John separate from the news.  You know the news, begun perhaps by all of the women standing up and speaking their truth through a simple two word phrase--me too.  

This has led to a dramatic cascade of truth telling, casting light on shameful patterns and habits of men abusing their power against women.  

I won’t recap the news any further for you, as I trust you have heard plenty about the names of those who have fallen from grace. 

But I do want to linger a moment longer on how I view the acts of these women who are standing up and revealing truth as acts of Advent witness.  

Think of how long it took for some of these women to get to a point where they believed they would be heard.  Think of the case they have to make, that each detail, each piece of evidence must be in place or else their truth would not be believed.  

Yet what we’re seeing is that truth telling brings more truth telling.  The powerful are not protected by their wealth and position.  

What could be more faithful to the message of John the Baptist and Jesus?  Both of these men came to speak about injustice in the world.  They talked about how the world would be turned upside down, how the mighty would fall.  They spoke about the corruption of the leaders of the day.  

This Advent, don’t shy away from testimonies of truth.  

Each week this Advent we will be looking at scriptures and studying around the theme and focus, “Leave the Light On.”  You’re going to hear a lot about light the next few weeks.  And as we journey toward the manger, we will get cozy, hushed, and reverent as we move closer to the sleeping baby Jesus. 

But this is not without remembering the bright light that John the Baptist gave witness to.  Testify to the light that causes the mighty to fall and the world to enter a new day of truth and justice. 

Amen.  

Have you ever seen someone wear white to a wedding?  You have, I’m certain, because the bride wears white.  But what about someone else?  That’s one of those great faux pas that you can hope you never see.  It’s funny how sacred we hold that kind of tradition. 

Now here’s another one; have you seen a bridal party gone wrong?  I’m thinking like the movie bridesmaids, when things get really out of control.  I have this theory that things go wrong because bridesmaids are often forced to wear the most ridiculous outfit.  You know the dresses I’m talking about--those ones with poofy sleeves or an unflattering hemline.  Definitely a hideous color.  So the bridesmaids get the wedding day and get so mad that they have to wear these terrible dresses that they behave just awfully.  

This is why my sister, Charity’s, wedding last weekend went so well.  She let the bridesmaids pick out their own dresses, so we all loved them.  And therefore, it was a wonderful wedding. 

Our worst wedding attire faux pas for Charity’s wedding was when my brother, Wesley, only had flip flops to wear with his dress pants for the rehearsal dinner.  He had also forgotten dress shoes for my wedding though, so I suppose fair is fair.  

Jesus told a story about a different kind of wedding.  Once again, today we are being brought into the world or parables, with all of the exaggeration and allegory parables bring.  It is not a direct narrative, a historical retelling of events that happened, but a story to open our minds, bring truth and understanding to us.  Parables tell us about God and about what the kingdom and realm of God is like.  Parables help us do this thing that we can’t help but do when we get close to the holy, we have to talk around it a bit, using all the creativity and metaphor at our disposal.  

Hear this parable again:

22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

We can learn a few things about God from this, but the one that sticks out to me is how attentive God is as a host.  God cares about the details.  When we think about divinity, the holy, who God is, there’s a line of theology that has placed God as separate, other, and quite uninterested in what humanity is up to.  This is not the case if we are to trust Jesus’s parable.  

God is an attentive host.  God care about the details.  It matters if this one man is out of place, so much so that we are certainly tempted to ask, does it really matter what this guy is wearing?

And I say to you, ask the bride of the wedding where one of the guests wore white.  

What we learn from this parable and other parables is that God does care about the individual.  It’s the one lost sheep out of a hundred, the one lost coin who bring great joy.  In the gospel of Matthew there are two different stories about yeast, that tiny bit of yeast that spreads.  In one story, the yeast is good, in the other the yeast represents the Pharisees.  It is the small that spreads, that has influence.  The gospel of Matthew is also the gospel that is strict in tell what to do with the sin and the people who do follow the way of Christ.  As Matthew 18:9 says, “And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away.” And the person who would not repent is to be cut off from the church.  This is all in Matthew 18--look it up.  

One person, one idea, one moment--good or bad it is that one small thing that can affect lives.  

Ask Josh how one person can ruin a marching band. Talk to me about what shoes I wear when I want to feel powerful.  One question stars a lifelong relationship, one mutation changes the course of evolution, one protest sparks a movement. 

And God is not oblivious to the way our lives work.  God is attentive to the details of our lives.  God knows, as we must now know, that to build the realm of God will take consideration of all that we put into it.  If the realm of God is to be a place of welcome, of love and compassion, for children, for the outcasts, for all who seek refuge, why would God not be vigilant about the details?  God is an attentive host for those that God loves.  

Our attentiveness to the details of our lives in response is a way to honor God, the host extraordinaire, the one we give deference in judgment and retribution to.  We are to be good guests, to be thoughtful.  

I take these flashes of God’s judgment, the brief glimpses of outer darkness we get in scriptures like these, as moments to trust God’s vision for God’s world above my own.  It is not to encourage or revel in the judgment God brings, but to be grateful that God is paying attention and cares in such a way to create a world that prioritizes those whom we have forgotten.  

God is creating and building a world where the best can be spread, where the lost sheep and the little children take center stage, where joy is protected and honored.  God is offering a feast and celebration, one without wedding crashers.  One that looks a little bit more like this, love and hopefully for what is to come.