CHRIST AT THE CENTER –

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!

Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7; John 1:24-28; 3:22-30

INTRODUCTION

Two weeks ago, on the first Sunday in this Advent season, I suggested that the prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist would help to lead us to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. So our sermon series, in keeping with the theme “Christ at the Center,” began with the title “Something Old, Something New,” as we looked at the ancient prophecies which were called forth by John the Baptist who was preaching in the Judean wilderness.

You may remember that some of the religious leaders from Jerusalem came out to hear what John was saying, and they asked him the question “Who are you?” He answered “I am not the Christ,” and then went on to tell them, in the words of Isaiah, that he was “a voice crying in the wilderness (to) make straight the way of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3 and John 1:19-23).

As we pick up the story in today’s gospel lesson, those religious leaders pressed their point, wanting to know why John was baptizing people without the proper credentials. He replied “I baptize with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know, even He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:19-28).

Just to be certain they had the message straight, John proceeded to tell them, as is recorded in chapter 3: “You bear witness that I said ‘I am not the Christ,’ but I have been sent before Him.” And then John used the analogy of a wedding, saying that the bridegroom stands alongside the bride, while the friends are nearby, listening to his voice during the ceremony.

Identifying Jesus with that bridegroom, John, who had heard His words and witnessed that He was the Christ, John said “Therefore this joy of mine is now full…He must increase, while I must decrease” (John 3:28-30).

You see, John knew that he wasn’t supposed to be the main event. The spotlight was focused instead on Jesus, and John had been sent to help set the stage for Him. So our sermon today is entitled “Christ at the Center: It’s Not About You!”

I

Now the wedding analogy in John, chapter 3, has evoked some memories of a hot and humid Saturday in July many years ago, when my sister Rebecca, just 19 years old, was married to a Coast Guard sailor in Philadelphia. Sad to say, the marriage did not survive, but there are two memories from that wedding which are still imbedded in my mind.

The first is how beautiful my sister looked coming down the aisle with a radiant smile on her face. And the second memory is about something I did at the reception which turned out to be a big mistake.

Our family couldn’t afford a wedding coordinator, so when the bride and groom and their attendants moved from the sanctuary into the outside garden, I, who had helped to perform the ceremony, tried to line everybody up two by two by two for the grand entrance through the rose covered trellis.

Things were going well until I decided to lead the way, walking ahead of the wedding party and into the garden, where much to my surprise, in the middle of two hundred people, I wound up standing there all alone. For alas, my sister’s dress had gotten caught in the rose trellis and it took what seemed like an eternity to finally set her free!

On that day, I learned a lesson which hopefully will never be forgotten – the unpardonable sin for a preacher at a wedding is to become the center of attention! I have been to a number of weddings since then, and so have many of you, where the preacher seems to think that he or she is the main attraction. They go on and on and on with witty comments and endless words of wisdom which actually miss the point of the entire celebration, and the point is this: preacher, it’s not about you! A wedding is all about the bride and the groom – they are the ones upon whom the spotlight is supposed to shine.

That is precisely the point John proclaimed so emphatically to those religious leaders and the crowds who came to hear him preach – “It’s not about me,” said John: “It’s all about Jesus, the Bridegroom, God’s Son, our Savior, who has come to redeem us – He must increase while I must decrease.” And so it still is for each of us and all of us who call ourselves Christians and seek to follow Jesus.

II

Unfortunately, sometimes we miss the point and choose to go our own way. I’m thinking now, not just about a wedding, but how the marriage turns out. A middle-aged couple were down in Florida on a golf trip and unexpectedly, they had to go to the dentist. Walking into the office, the husband said “Doc, we’re in a hurry. Do what you need to do, and don’t bother with the Novocain.” The dentist was surprised and replied “Sir, you are a courageous man. Where’s the pain?” The husband looked over at his wife and said “Show him your tooth, dear.”

Now I doubt that story is true – I hope and pray it’s not true! But sometimes, oftentimes we husbands and fathers need to remember that it’s not all about us – it’s about our wives, our children and what our families need, especially as we make our way to Christmas. So men, pay attention to those whom you love the most, and ask the Lord to help you focus more on them than on yourself.

And to the women in the congregation today – single or married, younger, older or somewhere in between – to all of the women here and out there in our broadcast audience, I want to say – please don’t try to produce a perfect Christmas for everyone else. Taking on the burden of that responsibility can raise your blood pressure and put you into a red alert state of anxiety!

Rudy Thomas, a United Church of Christ pastor up in Ohio, tells about a wife and mother who tried to do that – produce a perfect Christmas for everyone else. She was constantly in a hurry and loaded down with worries about getting everyone the right gifts, handling all of the decorations and cooking the Christmas Eve dinner by herself.

That night, as she tucked her daughter into bed, the little girl began to pray The Lord’s Prayer, but it came our differently this time. Instead of asking God to “forgive us our trespasses,” the child prayed “forgive us our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas against us.” With tears in her eyes, the mother realized that the frenzy of getting ready for Christmas had just about ruined it for everybody. And that night, she unplugged the Christmas machine and was able to enjoy the next day with her family.

So I say to the women today – it’s not all up to you and it’s not ultimately about you. It’s about a child who was born to a woman named Mary who believed the promise and received the presence of God in person – in the person of her Son named Jesus. The Advent-Christmas season is all about the peace and joy which He offers to us.

And to the movers and shakers who hear or read this sermon, to those who know how to make things happen and have places to go, people to meet and important things to do – it’s not all about you either.

That’s what a well-dressed Wall Street banker discovered on a cold December morning as his car broke down on the way into Manhattan and he had to get on the subway. Even though he was “somebody,” the crowd showed no more respect for him than anybody else, and he was pushed and shoved around like all the others.

Finally, he couldn’t stand being quiet about it any longer. So he turned to a guy in overalls, carrying a lunch box and hanging on to the strap next to his and said “You know, I hate this subway. I never ride on it. In fact, this is the first time I have been forced to take it in more than 15 years commuting from Westchester County.”

The blue collar guy looked up at him and answered without hesitation “Mister, you couldn’t possibly have the slightest idea just how much we have missed you down here.”

And here’s the point – no matter how high some may climb or important they might become, there is no difference in God’s eyes between them and the folks all the way down the ladder at the bottom rung. How do we know that is so?

Because when God entered into this world through the birth of His Son, poor shepherds, wealthy kings and we can imagine all sorts and conditions of people in between, came to Bethlehem to bow down before Him and to worship the One whom Isaiah had foretold would come. “For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given…and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

He is the reason for this season – it’s all about Jesus, and what He asks of us – the people who have been blessed with the gifts we have received, to share them with people in need. That’s what will happen here next Sunday morning as we give Christmas stockings to more than a thousand homeless men, women and children, which is exactly what Jesus meant when He said To those whom much is given, of them will much be required (Luke 12:48)

CONCLUSION

The good news this Advent season is that God loves all of His children on earth equally and unconditionally, and He calls all of us to do the same. That is what our sermon is about next Sunday, entitled “Love is Something We Do.”

But before we leave here today, there is a question I want to ask you, written by Dr. Henry Van Dyke, which I think leads us in the right direction…toward Bethlehem:

“Are you willing…

to stoop down and consider the needs and desires of little children;

to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old;

to stop asking how much your friends love you and to ask yourself

whether you love them enough;

to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts;

to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke and to

carry it so that your shadow will fall behind you?

Are you willing to do these things for a day?

Then you are ready to keep Christmas!”

- Henry Van Dyke

And I would add, then you are also ready to share Christmas with others and to give yourself away.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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