Sermon and Worship Resources

These Illustrations are based on Matthew 11:2-11
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Sermon Opener - Are You the One Who Is to Come? - Matthew 11:2-12

In his book Horns and Halos, Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton tells about one of the weirdest auction sales in history; and it was held in Washington, D.C., in 1926, where 150,000 patented models of old inventions were declared obsolete and placed on the auction block for public auction. Prospective buyers and on-lookers chuckled as item after item was put up for bid; such as a "bed-bug buster" or an "illuminated cat" that was designed to scare away mice. Then there was a device to prevent snoring. It consisted of a trumpet that reached from the mouth to the ear; and was designed to awaken the snorer and not the neighbors. And then there was the adjustable pulpit that could be raised or lowered according to the height of the preacher.

Needless to say, this auction of old patent models was worth at least 150,000 laughs; but if we would look into this situation a little deeper, we would discover that these 150,000 old patent models also represent 150,000 broken dreams. They represented a mountain of disappointments.

It may seem inappropriate to talk about broken dreams and disappointments this close to Christmas. After all, this is the season to be jolly. But it's not jolly for everybody, is it? For those who have lost loved ones this is the loneliest time of the year. And in a world that glorifies materialism, those who are struggling financially may find it to be most disappointing.

Our friend John the Baptist knew about disappointment. John is in prison now and he's looking for a sign - a sign that the long-awaited Messiah has really arrived. That's ironic, don't you think? John the Baptist is the one who first proclaimed his coming. But much has happened to John since we last saw him preaching and baptizing people in the wilderness, and now his heart is cast down.

You'll remember John's message was, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This message burned in John's soul…

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Timing Is Everything - Matthew 11:2-11

There was a joke that came out of the Soviet Union many years ago about a Russian who stood on the street corner in Moscow, and shouted, "Down with Khrushchev!" He was arrested and sent to prison camp for ten years. While he was in prison he had a change of heart, and came to see that Khrushchev was a great leader after all. The only problem was, while he was in prison the times changed, and Khrushchev was deposed from office and publicly denounced.

When the man was released, he went back to that same street corner in Moscow. He wanted to give a public testimony to his rehabilitation. This time he shouted, "Hooray for Khrushchev!" and got ten more years. Which just shows you, timing is everything.

That is true in the book publishing business as well. They say what makes a best seller is timing. I can give testimony to that, having written several books myself that not only escaped the attention of reviewers, but readers as well. One publisher wrote me and asked if I was interested in buying the surplus volumes of my books that were taking up space in his warehouse. I didn't answer him.

So I was interested in the formula for success in publishing, especially for preachers. Robert Fulghum is an ex-preacher, who now writes best sellers. His first book was, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Since he wrote that book, everything he has written has been a best seller. He is enormously successful, wealthy, lives on a boat in Seattle, and goes through old sermon notes to write best sellers. I'm stuck here with my nose to the grind stone. There is only one explanation for it, they tell me, it's a matter of timing.

I was reading about steamships. It was a wonderful article in which the author said that the dream of a self-propelled ship had been a dream of humankind for hundreds of years. Then one day the time came when it was theoretically possible, but it was still not practically possible. The dream was kept alive for another hundred years or so by inventors and experimenters, some of whom were considered to be eccentric. Later on people looked back and said of them, they were just ahead of their time.

Then the times changed. The next person to come along was Robert Fulton. It was not so much that Fulton invented the steamboat, but that he just happened to be there when the time was right. As the author wrote, "The inventor's eminence may be more a trick of chronology than anything else, due to being active at the very moment when fruition was possible." It's a wonderful statement. It tells you that timing is everything.

It is a wonderful illustration of the way the Bible looks upon time. For the Bible, there are only two kinds of time: there is the time of preparation, and there is the time of fulfillment….

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Knee Deep In Alligators

Did you ever hear the expression, "When you're knee-deep in alligators and copperheads, it's hard to remember that your primary objective was to clean out the swamp?" That's how I imagine John the Baptist must have felt as he stared at those damp, cold walls of Herod's dungeon, day after day, knowing in his heart that only a miracle would allow him to leave this place alive. Wouldn't you be scared in that predicament? Wouldn't you begin to question your "core beliefs" if you knew that those very beliefs were responsible for your impending doom?

Johnny Dean

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Timing Is Everything

Then the times changed. The next person to come along wasRobert Fulton. It was not so much that Fulton invented the steamboat, but that he just happened to be there when the time was right. As the author wrote, "The inventor's eminence may be more a trick of chronology than anything else, due to being active at the very moment when fruition was possible." It's a wonderful statement. It tells you that timing is everything.

That's what we learn from the Bible. Look at our lesson for this morning. The disciples of John the Baptist come to Jesus, and ask, "Are you the one, or do we look for another?" It is a critical question for John. John has preached that the time has come. The Messiah, he said, is about to appear, so repent, get ready, put your lives in order. He has devoted his whole life to the belief that the time has come. But he is in prison now. He is about to lose his head. So he sends his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the one that we have been waiting for, or do we still look for somebody else?"

Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

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Who Jesus Really Is

I don't know where life may be defeating you this Advent. I don't know how Jesus may be disappointing you this Advent. But I would suggest to you this Advent that any disillusionment you feel may not necessarily be a bad thing. For what is disillusionment if not, literally, the loss of an illusion? And, in the long run, it is never a bad thing to lose the lies we have mistaken for the truth.

Did Jesus fail to come when you rubbed the lantern?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a genie.

Did Jesus fail to punish your enemies?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a cop.

Did Jesus fail to make everything run smoothly?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a mechanic.

Over and over again, our disappointments draw us deeper and deeper into
who Jesus really is ... and what Jesus really does.

William A. Ritter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

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The Controlling Emotion of Fear

H. A. Williams, one of the leading preachers and theologians of the Church of England, titled his autobiography, Someday I’ll Find You. That may seem like an unusual title for an autobiography, but if you read the book, as I did when I was a seminary student, it begins to make sense.

You see, there was a period in Dr. Williams’ life when he was almost totally incapacitated by phobic anxieties. He was afraid to into the streets and marketplaces, afraid of elevators and escalators, afraid to ride on trains or buses or subways, afraid of flying – you name it, he was afraid of it! Eventually he became so overcome with fear that he was partially paralyzed, and it was only after years of psychoanalysis and treatment that he was able to conquer his fear and go on with his life.

Fear is one of the most controlling emotions of life. Most of us don’t like to think of ourselves as fearful people. We prefer to think of ourselves as strong and independent, as though we had the world by the tail and are just waiting for it to say "uncle," as if we were capable of taking on all comers. "I am strong, I am invincible," to borrow a line from one of my all-time least favorite songs. It just ain’t so, folks! None of us are "invincible," male or female. Every one of us, at one time or another has felt the cold grip of fear and felt helpless to do anything about it.

Johnny Dean, www.Sermons.com,

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We Can't See What Is Before Us, We Are Never Content

In a Peanuts comic strip Lucy is speaking with Linus at the base of a hill. She says, "Someday I'm going over that hill and find the answer to my dreams.... Someday I'm going over that hill and find hope and fulfillment. I think, for me, all the answers to life lie beyond these clouds and over the grassy slopes of that hill!"

Linus removes his thumb from his mouth, points toward the hill, and responds: "Perhaps there's another little kid on the other side of that hill who is looking this way and thinking that all the answers to life lie on this side of the hill." Lucy looks at Linus, then turns toward the hill and yells, "Forget it, kid!"

Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com

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Where Is the Fire?

We get this comforting idea that if we follow the Messiah life will somehow be smoother, or at least all fit together in some "good" way. Then we run smack into the reality that the only guarantee Jesus made to us had to do with the activities that come after this life. In fact, Jesus very clearly expected that his followers would have a harder time getting through this life than those who walked away. But we still have these expectations of a "Savior" and when Jesus doesn't meet them we begin to wonder if he is really who we thought he was. There are thousands of empty church pews that used to be full of people who believed in Jesus Christ. But then he didn't live up to their expectations and they went home. Their families still fought, they still had some frightening decisions to make, and they still couldn't make ends meet on a budget. They began to wonder if they had made a mistake with Jesus.

Maybe that's what happened to John. He said that he had come to baptize with water, and that the one following him would baptize with "fire from heaven." So where was the fire? So far there wasn't even smoke. So far, the Pharisees and Sadducees were still in charge of the faith, and Rome was still in charge of the government. In fact, instead of bringing in the kingdom, Jesus had kept pretty quiet up north while John got himself arrested and thrown into one of Herod's dungeons on a mountaintop down by the Dead Sea. That might make a person ask some questions. Is this any way for a Messiah to behave?

At least I hope that's what happened with John. If John the Baptist, as high up as he ranked, still had some questions, maybe there is room for me and mine.

John B. Jamison, Time's Up!, CSS Publishing Company

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Only Jesus

An anonymous author made this striking comparison: "Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men, who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.

Jesus painted no pictures yet some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from him. Jesus wrote no poetry but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world's greatest poets were inspired by him. Jesus composed no music still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns, symphonies, and oratorios they composed in his praise. Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth.

His unique contribution to humanity is the salvation of the soul! Philosophy could not accomplish that. Nor art. Nor literature. Nor music. Only Jesus Christ can break the enslaving chains of sin. He alone can speak peace to the human heart, strengthen the weak, and give life to those who are spiritually dead."

David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

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Doubt

This is a good sermon opener:

In the semantics of the church, doubt has been a negative word. It is rarely used in a favorable way. Faith, not doubt, is the great word of the church. As I stand here every Sunday morning and look into your up-lifted faces, you look so proper, so content, so believing. You seem to be so certain, so full of faith, and so free of doubt.

But, I have a suspicion that the way you look is not the way you are. Beneath the skins of many of you there is planted the seed of honest doubt. Perhaps you do not share these feelings with anyone; but your doubts are there, and they are real. Your worship does not express your doubts, uncertainties, and skepticism. In facing this situation, all of us at times cry out with the man in the Gospel, "Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief." This capacity to doubt can often lead to some of life’s most profound questions.

Such was the case with John the Baptizer. His question —"Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?"— grew not out of his uncertainty, but out of his doubt. John the Baptizer had heard about the words and deeds of Jesus, but what he had heard did not square with his expectation of the Messiah.

After all, Jesus was born not to royalty, but to a peasant woman. He functioned not as a military ruler, but as a servant. He came not as a judge, but as a forgiving redeemer. He did not bring heavenly condemnation; he brought divine love. He did not associate with the religious establishment, but he went from village to village associating with the rubbish heap of humanity. He spent his time and energy with the least and the lost. He was most concerned with the powerless: the blind and the lame, the lepers and the deaf, and the poor and the out-cast. And Jesus dared to teach that the weak occupied the most important place in the Kingdom of God.

John the Baptizer became confused about the way in which Jesus acted out his messiahship. He had doubts about the validity of his contemporary, Jesus of Nazareth. His skepticism caused him to send one of his buddies to Jesus with the question: "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" Like others in the New Testament, John the Baptizer was not positive. Oh, to be sure, there were fleeting moments of recognition. Mary thought Jesus was a gardener. Those on the road to Emmaus never did recognize him. Even his closest disciples were not certain if he was or was not the true Messiah.

That John the Baptizer had doubts about the messiahship of Jesus is revealed in his question: "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" His question is not clear, either in what is being asked or why. But like all good questions, it shoves the reader into deeper regions of thought.

Joe E. Pennell Jr., From Anticipation to Transfiguration, CSS Publishing Company, 23-24.

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Swimming in Tiny Circles

Grady Nutt used to tell the story of taking a goldfish out of a bowl and placing it in a large body of water. He said that for several hours the goldfish would continue to swim in little, tiny circles because it had not yet learned of the vastness of the pool. "

Are you the one?" John the Baptist asked. Evidence came back to John that suggested Jesus was the one, the messiah, but it was still important for him to ask the question. John must have been asking, "Is he the one for me?" "Do I dare call him my savior and accept all the implications that may bring?"

William B. Kincaid, III, And Then Came the Angel, CSS Publishing Company

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Swimming in Tiny Circles

William B. Kincaid, III, And Then Came the Angel, CSS Publishing Company

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It Doesn’t Get Any Better

In 1964 my boyhood home burned. We were on our way to spend Christmas with my mother and father, and the word reached us that the flames had engulfed most of the home, although the structure was standing. When we arrived at Texarkana, it was late in the afternoon, and the December sun was already toward the horizon. I entered the house with a cousin to inspect the damage and became aware of the fact that it was difficult to see. I said to her, "I think I shall wait and come back in the morning, when the light will be better." I shall never forget her reply: "Bill," she said, "it doesn't get any better!" At first I did not know what she meant; only later I realized that the fire had brought to the inside panes of the windows a kind of smoke and resin film which very effectively shut out most of the light, even when the sun was shining brightly.

Those words have been burned into my consciousness ever since: "Bill, it doesn't get any better." I have thought of the times in my life when circumstances would not and did not get any better, at least on their own terms, and I have thought of the times in the lives of friends and loved ones where this was true. How is it possible to have faith when things do not get better? Blessed is he that taketh no offense when things do not get better. John dies in the prison, and we can understand his struggle.

William B. Oglesby, Jr., Pastoral Care Issues In The Pulpit, Anthology - edited by Gregory J. Johanson, CSS Publishing Co., Inc.

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ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS NOT IN OUR EMAIL
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Matthew 11:2-11 – Time to Unpack

Advent is an intentional season of “preparedness.” We think of Advent as a “journey,” to use Oprah Winfrey’s favorite word. We think of Advent as a progressive path we take in order to arrive at a destination — the sleepy village of Bethlehem.

Preparing. Making plans. Charting a way. Scouting and scoping the landscape. Assessing and overcoming obstacles to avoid or override.

Sounds like life as usual. Sounds like something we can get our heads and hands and hearts around. Sounds like something we can get down and get done.

But wait a minute! Advent is not our journey. We are NOT in charge. Advent is not a journey we make, a journey we prepare for, a road that we navigate.

No, Advent is the journey GOD makes. Advent isn’t a trip we prepare to go on. Advent is the time we prepare for God’s trip to us. Advent is the time we ready ourselves to RECEIVE God. The God who, against all reason and for our redemption, is making a journey TOWARDS us.

This week’s gospel text reminds us just how long God had been preparing for this journey. Before the baby Jesus was even born, God had arranged for the ideal advance man, the perfect prophet to be conceived and born and nurtured to adulthood. Generations before John the Baptist there were other prophets whom God provided with selected slices of insight, like a freeze-framed GPS map. Moses and Isaiah, Malachi and Daniel: all provided peeks at the pathway God was paving…

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Shall We Look for Another?

In the wonderful story of Alice and Wonderland one of the characters is a lock. The Lock is very restless and can not be still for a single moment. It is obviously hunting for something as it looks behind every rock and tree. As Alice watches the lock, her curiosity is aroused and she asks, "What is the matter?" The lock replies, "I am looking for something to unlock me."

John Thomas Randolph, The Best Gift, CSS Publishing, pp 19-20.

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What Have You Done to Us?

Jesus, what have you done to us?
We wanted a pet kitten
And you turned into a tiger.
We liked you the way you were.

Why couldn't you leave us alone?
We wanted you to show up when we
wanted you to make us feel good.

We wanted a pretty church for weddings and baptisms and funerals.
We wanted the cute Easter bunny hopping around the lawn.
We thought religion was good for the kiddies.

Now all of a sudden you've turned against us.
We wanted peace and you brought us a sword.

Things were going along all right.
Then you got interested in the poor people.
Now they're strutting around like they
Are going to inherit the earth.

Now all of a sudden you tell us
To love our enemies.
Do you know what will happen if we do?
They will nail our hide to the wall
And what will we do then, keep on praying for them?

We liked you when you were a little boy
Gentle, meek and mild, cooing in your cradle.
All those nice shepherds and angels,
And we felt just awful about King Herod.

Look at all we did for you.
We made a national holiday in your honor.
We built big industries around it - Christmas cards,
Toy machine guns for the kiddies
And all those fancy gift-wrapped whiskey bottles.

We built pretty churches in your honor,
Stained glass, organs, the works,
And when the people moved away from the riff raff,
The church followed them
Straight out into the suburbs.

Looking at all we've done for you, Jesus,
Why can't you leave us alone?
We've got enough troubles now.
Why do you keep pricking our conscience?

What do you want for Christmas, our hearts?

Because of his doubts, John the Baptizer introduced us to the One who is to come. And like him, we will have to respond on the basis of what we hear and see.

As we move swiftly through the rituals of the season, let us not fail to look and to listen. Not looking and not listening might cause us to miss the point of it all, and that would be a sad and terrible thing.

Joe E. Pennell, From Anticipation to Transfiguration, CSS Publishing Company

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The One Who Is to Come

You see, God through Jesus Christ is still bringing good news to the poor. He is still bringing those who were dead back to life again! He is still healing those who were broken!

In the May, 1982, issue of Guideposts magazine, Norman Vincent Peale tells of a woman who came to him for help. Her husband had been killed in a tragic car crash, and as a result, she felt numb, hopeless, and broken.

Peale was able to help her by telling her a true story about a distinguished British violinist named Peter Cropper. Cropper’s work was so outstanding that the Royal Academy of Music in London had honored him by lending him a priceless 258-year old Stradivarius. It is the dream of every violinist to be able to play such an instrument! But a terrible thing happened while Cropper was performing in Finland. He tripped and fell on top of the Stradivarius and broke it. Cropper’s pleasant dream was turned into a horrible nightmare. He was inconsolable.

Then a London violin dealer told him of a master craftsman who could repair the Stradivarius. To make a long story short, the repairs were so perfect they could not even be seen, and the soaring notes of the instrument were more beautiful than they had ever been before — all because the broken parts were placed in the hands of a master craftsman who then applied his healing touch.

Yes, Jesus Christ is the one we have been looking for. Something terrible happens and our lives are broken. Then we turn them over to Jesus Christ who is the Master Craftsman of all time. He takes the broken pieces and puts them back together again, and we are better than new!

So go tell John and anyone else who will listen: The works of Jesus, what he is actually doing for us and others, affirm that he is the one we are looking for. There is no need to look "for another."

John Thomas Randolph, The Best Gift, CSS Publishing, pp 18-19.

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Expressing Our Hopes and Fears

Eugene Peterson, a Presbyterian minister who teaches at Regent College in Vancouver, tells the story of wanting to discuss some feelings and energies he was having that he believed had to do with God. It was the summer after Peterson's second year of college. His first two attempts at finding someone who would listen to him didn't work out very well. Peterson tried talking to his pastor, but after about five minutes his pastor diagnosed Peterson's problem as having to do with sex and began a lengthy lecture on the subject. Peterson decided after a couple of meetings that it was his pastor who had a problem with sex, so he began to look elsewhere for someone with whom he could talk about the things he was experiencing and feeling. Then Peterson talked with a man who was considered a saint in his home congregation. This man decided that they should study and discuss Ephesians together, but as it turns out there was no discussion to it. The man simply used Peterson as an audience and lectured endlessly about Ephesians to the young boy.

Finally, Peterson encountered one who treated his God-interest and prayer-hunger with dignity. Instead of trying to shovel Peterson full of pious wisdom or viewing him as a "project," a man named Rueben Lance prayerfully listened to Peterson and all his hopes and fears, questions and feelings. Years later Peterson would write, "He let me be. He didn't mess with my soul. He treated me with dignity. I felt a large roominess in his company -- a spiritual roominess, room to move around, room to be free."

Questions aren't bad, but not allowing them to be asked is. Questions are a way of loving God with our minds. Through questions we reach and explore and gain a better understanding of important matters.

William B. Kincaid, III, And Then Came the Angel, CSS Publishing Company

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The Time of Preparation and the Time of Fulfillment

Hugh Redwood was a British journalist. He described a time when he was under a terrific strain and pressure because of terrible decisions that he had to make. He didn't want to make them. He didn't know which way to turn. One day he was invited to give a speech in another town. His host arranged a little reception before the event in his house so that he could meet some people. During the reception the host said, "You look weary and tired. Would you like to escape from all of this chatter and be by yourself?" He said, "Yes.

He was taken upstairs to a sitting room, where there was a fire in the fireplace and an easy chair pulled up to the fire. He sat down. Then he noticed at his elbow a little table next to the chair, with a Bible opened to the 59th psalm, where there is a verse that reads, in the King James version, "The God of my mercy shall prevent me..." In the old King James English, "prevent" means "go before." Hugh Redwood said that somebody had written in the margin after that verse this paraphrase: "My God in his loving kindness shall meet me at every corner."

Redwood said that was like light shining in the darkness of his life, and he was encouraged to go on, confident that God is at work, preveniently, even when we are not aware of it. Which is why we are asked to wait, be patient, have hope. Because there are only two kinds of time: the time of preparation, and the time of fulfillment.

Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

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When the Real World Rears Its Head

Why in the world did John the Baptist question if Jesus was the one? Maybe he forgot. Maybe he did recognize Jesus at his baptism, and now, a few months later, he just forgot. You have to wonder, however, what could make a man forget that Jesus was the Christ. That seems pretty unforgettable. The best way to answer that may be to look at what makes us forget who he is. Maybe that will help.

Shelly was a new Christian. She had just gone through a religious experience that totally changed her life, and as a part of her new life she wanted to become a part of the church. She was running on high speed, and had high hopes. She was going to save the world, or at least the part of it she could reach. She watched her language. She pronounced Jesus with seven syllables, and made sure to use the word "blessed" at least once in every sentence. She started attending Bible studies and promptly made everyone there uncomfortable. But she meant well. No one could blame her for her enthusiasm, because she had just recognized who Jesus was, and we could all remember how that felt. Then Shelly came to a church board meeting.

She bowed her head during the opening prayer, and then studied the minutes of the previous meeting like they were Holy Scripture. She listened intently to the various committee reports, and nodded as though she understood it all. Then came Phil. Everyone knew what happened when Phil opened his mouth, you just never knew what the topic would be. Everyone knew except Shelly. Tonight the topic was the new church budget. Phil started out on the money being wasted on those expensive children's bulletins "that don't do anything anyway!" and ended up reminding everyone of how different it was back when Pastor Ludlan was there. Everyone grinned at each other. "There goes Phil again. He'll get tired in a minute and wind down." Everyone but Shelly that is.

She was amazed. This was the "church." The bubble had been burst, and the air fizzled out all over the room. That was the night Shelly began to wonder....

John B. Jamison, Time's Up!, CSS Publishing Company.

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It Takes Time for Truth to be Accepted

On December 6, 1865, just months after the Civil War ended, the 13th amendment outlawing slavery was ratified and became of the law of the land. But that didn't mean every state approved the ratification of the amendment. Mississippi's state legislature, for example, was dominated by whites bitter over the defeat of the Confederacy, and they rejected the measure. 130 years passed before Mississippi took action. By 1995 Mississippi was the only state in the Union that had not approved the ratification of the 13th amendment.

Finally, on Thursday, February 16, 1995, the Mississippi Senate voted unanimously to outlaw slavery by approving the ratification of the 13th amendment to the Constitution.

Senator Hillman Frazier, a member of the Mississippi's Legislature's Black Caucus, said, "I think it's very important for us to show the world that we have finally put the past behind us."

Just as there was a delay in some states ratifying an end to slavery in the United States, so there is often a delay accepting the presence God's kingdom coming ever new here and now. Advent is a reminder we must never stop trying, never stop hoping, never stop preparing for the in-breaking of God's kingdom either into our own hearts or in our community. God's kingdom will one day hold sway over the entire world. When that day comes, my prayer is we will be prepared for its glory.

Author unknown. Source: Faith Lutheran in Akron Ohio. Advent III

To review the Ratification of Constitutional Amendments

http://www.usconstitution.net/constamrat.html#Am13

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Sermon Opener - Looking for Shoots or Roots?

Is your advent “adventitious?”

In case you wonder what “adventitious” means, let me define it for you by telling a story:

We have a Christmas cactus. It is not like the Christmas cactus I remember growing up with – - a lovely, multi-branched, octopus-like-creature bursting with blooms so heavy they drooped over the sides.

No, we have a no-bloom Christmas cactus.

A few years ago one of our dogs decided to augment his kibble diet by noshing on the alluring flower perched like a crown on the top of this cactus. When the crime was discovered the decapitated plant was lying on its side, with potting soil spilled all over the table. A gaping wound marked the spot where the pinkish-orange bloom had once crowned the cactus. The ravaged cactus did survive, but decided that not only would it never bloom again, but that growing anything upright was a dangerous idea.

So instead of growing up, this cactus has grown sideways ever since it was attacked. To move on in life, it moves sideways. We propped up its side-saddle tentacles with another pot, one that had soil in it. After a few weeks some small, pale rootlets started sprouting out of the cactus branch, and were actively making their way towards the soil in the second pot. In other words, this Christmas cactus had become “adventitious.”

Roots that grow out of stems or branches, instead of under the soil, are called “adventitious roots.” These roots take a bad situation (being munched on and growing sideways), and transform it into a new possibility for growth and life.

“Adventitious” roots are part of the season of “Advent.”

Last week’s epistle text cited Isaiah 11:1, the outrageous assertion that “ a shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” The term “rhiza” may mean either “root” or “shoot,” although “shoot” is the most common translation. From an expiring source, new life and new roots spring forth unexpectedly. From a plant left for dead, new roots actively seek to fix and plant themselves for new life and growth.

Perhaps we prefer the “shoots” over the “roots” translation because “shoots” depicts a more showy pattern of growth — powerful, upward, highly visible signals of new life. “Roots” are less dramatic, less showy. But “roots” are far more necessary for sustained life and long term change. Roots burrow down into the dark and build a firm foundation, a new source of nourishment, for an old “stump.”

John’s disciples were on the look-out for “shoots,” not “roots.” They sought a messianic figure that would “shoot” upward into the light, not tunnel deeper into the dark. Though first-century Judaism was far from homogenized, one of the most common themes was the expectation of a military messiah, a political savior who would restore Israel back to power and significance as a nation. [Google some images of a military messiah the ancient Hebrews were expecting.]

Jesus’ focus on healing, his preference for teaching in the small towns and back roads of Galilee--his Sabbath infringements, his association with sinners and tax collectors, his gossiped gluttony and drinking with ne’er-do-wells---all may have made his messianic identity suspect in the eyes of John’s disciples.

Jesus listened to their question. Then Jesus patiently asked them to itemize “what [do] you hear and see”?

As they describe the miracles springing up from the soil of Jesus’ ministry, John’s disciples suddenly realize…

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You Can’t Blame John

You can’t blame John. After all, he’s in prison. In prison. Let those two little words sink in. He's in prison. A not so nice place to be. In prison. The very man who had attracted a flurry of attention in recent years because of his no-holds-barred announcements of a new world order that was just around the corner; this one, this man, this fiery preacher who shook up everything and everyone with his blazing rhetoric about kingdom come; this John, this man, this preacher is in prison. In prison. And he's got a question. He's in prison where you have nothing but time to think and so John's has come up with a question. But the person to whom he wants to pose that question isn't there and hasn't visited him lately, either. So John dispatches a cadre of his friends to go to Galilee, track down his cousin Jesus, and confront him with the question which was tormenting John there in prison.

"Are you the one, or should we be expecting someone else one of these here days?" This is a question borne of let-down. John's in prison. In prison, which is the last place he ever thought he'd end up. If Elizabeth could see him now, she would die of embarrassment, John thought.

John was in prison. And as the days and weeks passed, it became increasingly clear that Jesus was not going to do anything to get John OUT of prison. No political revolution was on the horizon which could lead to John's release and pardon by the new emperor named Jesus. Plus, Jesus was not baptizing anybody, not even with water much less by fire. In fact, even though John had heard many reports and rumors and prison gossip about what Jesus was doing way out in the sticks of Galilee, the simple fact of the matter was that Jesus was out in the sticks of Galilee, quietly performing a ministry which no one in their wildest imagination would describe as fiery or revolutionary.

Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations

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Joy Breaks Cynicism

Joy breaks the cynical posture of our world - reminds us there is a spiritual reality seeking to break into our world. We see this joy in modern-day prophets who remind us that we can collectively change reality. Think of those who reach out to those who have nothing, who remind us that we are not hopelessly stuck where we are right now but together we can address issues like poverty and the environment and work out solutions which benefit not just the wealthy and powerful, but all God's children. If you have ever spent any time around movers and shakers you know that have joy that is contagious.

At its best this is what the church is about - building a people who work to make deserts bloom with joy, a people unafraid to address the issues of society with hope that is rooted in faith.

George Hermanson, Fear, Comfort, Joy

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Something to Take the Edge off

In all fairness, the crowd I usually hang out with is way too polite and politically correct to sound much like John the Baptist when they see human sin. My crowd's problem is not that we, like John, think the Messiah will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. Our problem is that we do not expect much of anything to change with the Messiah's advent. It is not that we think he will be vindictive and we are just too gleeful about that — or at least it is not usually that. Instead, our problem is that we think the best the Messiah can do is take the edge off. Jesus says to John's messengers, "Go and tell John what you see and hear: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them."

Instead of hoping for, watching, expecting such things as these, we look for a little analgesic. Jesus, could we just have a little something for the pain?

Mary Hinkle Shore, Are You the One...?

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John’s Question

Jesus' failure was also personal for John. He's sitting in prison. He will soon be executed by the political powers. Is Jesus really the Coming One -- the more powerful one? Mary Donovan Turner, in a Christian Century (December 6, 1995, p. 1173) article on this text begins with:

John sat in his prison cell staring at the four walls that kept him from freedom. He could no longer look upon the familiar landmarks of the country he loved. He was cut off from his friends. He was disconnected from his community and stranded in a limited world, a world filled with uncertainty. He remembered the days in the wilderness when every word he spoke exuded certainty and assurance.”

Is Jesus the one who comes or should we look for another? John's question is not answered with a simple "yes" or "no". The answer can only come from faith. Like John in prison, we can only hear reports about what Jesus is saying and doing (as we hear these words in the gospels). Will we believe in our hearts the reports from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John or not? Will these reports create a change of thinking about God, ourselves, and the world in us? Will we believe in our hearts and in our lives Jesus' call to continue his work on earth? How do we - through our words and actions - reveal what is in our hearts?

Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes

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When God Doesn’t Fix Us

Christmas is coming soon. The lights, the sounds, the smells of the holidays are in the air. No matter where we go, we are reminded of holiday cheer. In fact, many of us rely on this atmosphere to bring us out of our doldrums. We expect people, places, or events to create the mood that Christmas brings.

Human nature tempts us to lean on others to bolster our condition. We expect others to "fix" us when we are down, sustain us when we are "up." We are tempted to treat God the same way. God, the Mr. Fix-it for our souls.

What happens when God doesn't "fix" us? How many times have we been disappointed when our expectations of God are unfulfilled? How many times have we confused faith with expectation? How many times have we forgotten that God defines himself?

John the Baptist had expectations about the One to come. Did Jesus fulfill his expectations? Or, did Jesus define his mission on his own terms?

Larry Broding, What Do We Expect From God?

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Jesus Did Some Strange Things

I heard that a college student came to his religion professor and said, "You know I used to be OK with that 'What Would Jesus Do?' thing until I started reading the Bible. Sometimes Jesus did some strange things."

Sometimes he did. And because of that John asks and the disciples ask and we ask: Are you the one to come or are we to wait for another? Each of us has expectations about the kind of Messiah we want: Some of us want a first-century Jonathan Edwards - breathing fire and brimstone, scaring the heaven into people. Or maybe we want an ideological Jesus who will champion our favorite cause, who will assure us that God is for gun control or against abortion? Or maybe we would prefer a gentle, Good Shepherd Jesus who will not demand anything of us, but will assure us that He loves us just the way we are.

Sooner or later our ideas about Jesus do not conform with reports of what he is doing either in the Scripture or in the world. And we ask: Are you the one to come or are we to wait for another? Jesus - the real Jesus – at times upsets our expectations; He breaks out of whatever box we put Him in. Then it's time for us to ask ourselves if we want to follow the living Christ or simply our idea of who the Christ should be.

Porter Taylor, The Place He Stops Is Now

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The Fluctuation between Light and Darkness

There are times in the lives of all of us when things seem to go exceptionally well. Plans work out, dreams take substance and shape, and projects fall into place. On such occasions, quite naturally, we rejoice, for it is clear to us that life is full and that there are not only satisfactions but also accomplishments which enable us to feel worthwhile.

By the same token, there are times in the lives of all of us when everything seems to go wrong. We start off on some task with the goal clearly in sight, only to encounter obstacles which are insurmountable. We are moving along life's way when our lives are crossed by the shadow of
disaster, either personally or in the experience of those we love. Sometimes these rough places occur because of negligence or evil-doing on our part; at other times they occur because of circumstances over which we have little if any control. In any event, all of us know these times quite well as the sun goes behind the cloud and we walk through the shadow of despair. Indeed, it is likely that for most of us these times become the most crucial of all times, and it is certain that they happen to all of us at one time or other.

It seems to matter very little that all of us are fully aware of the inevitability of fluctuation between light and darkness, between laughter and tears. We write it into the marriage ceremony when we talk of "sickness and health, joy and sorrow, plenty and want." And yet knowing it does not seem to make the experiencing of it any easier. This was certainly true for John the Baptizer. He knew and stated clearly as he contemplated his relationship to Jesus, "He must increase, and I must decrease." And yet, now in the prison, the perspective was becoming distorted, and his faith began to falter. "Are you really the one who should come, or shall we look for another?"

William B. Oglesby, Jr., Pastoral Care Issues In The Pulpit, Anthology - edited by Gregory J. Johanson, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.

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The Most Neglected Beatitudes

Jesus speaks here what has been called the most neglected of all the Beatitudes, "And blessed is he who takes no offense at me." John dies in the prison. "Blessed is he that takes no offense."

It is a word for that time, and it is a word for our time. For faith is comparatively easy when things go well; faith becomes difficult when things turn against us and there seems to be no release. It is then that we are blessed if we take no offense. Most of the time in our lives when trouble comes we are able to work our way through it. Illness strikes us, and we are well. Our loved ones go to the hospital, the things that are done are appropriate, and they return. And yet, for all of us, the time comes when these kinds of deliverance will not occur, at least not on their own terms. The grip of pain will not be broken, the tragedy will not be set aside; the death will not be thwarted. How is it possible to have faith when the release does not come?

William B. Oglesby, Jr., Pastoral Care Issues In The Pulpit, Anthology - edited by Gregory J. Johanson, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.

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Humor: Reacting to Critics

The pastor John Maxwell tells a story about a salesman who went to his barber for a haircut. He told the barber about his upcoming trip to Rome. The barber had only negative comments to make about the airline the salesman had chosen, the hotel where he was going to stay, about Rome in general, and even about his hope of having an audience with the Pope. A month later the salesman returned to the barbershop. He said, "I had a wonderful trip. The flight was perfect and the hotel service was excellent. And I got to meet the Pope!" The barber asked, "What did the Pope say to you?" The salesman said, "He placed his hand on my head and said, 'My son, where did you get such a lousy haircut?'" May such an experience happen to every sourpuss and chronic critic!

Bill Bouknight, www.Sermons.com

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Pay Better Attention

Annie Dillard tells of the pastor whose pulpit prayer included some wonderful petitions for the betterment of life in this world. Then, before signing off, he included these words: "But thou knowest, O God, that we ask for these same things Sunday after Sunday. So we confess to you our discouragement that so little progress is made." Said Annie: "His prayer was so painfully honest that I knew I had finally found a preacher who knows God."

Frankly, I do not know why....if God is truly in charge....that things do not go better or happen faster. But when John raised a similar question to Jesus ("If you're the one, tell us what we're missing"), Jesus said: "Look again. Look closer. Pay better attention. Things are happening." Which, apparently, was good enough for John. And, most days, is good enough for me.

William A. Ritter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

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A Place of Dreams

There was once a woman who was disappointed, who was disillusioned, who was depressed. She wanted a good world, a peaceful world, and she wanted to be a good person. But the newspaper and television showed her how far we were from such a reality. So she decided to go shopping. She went to the mall and wandered into a new store - where the person behind the counter looked strangely like Jesus. Gathering up her courage she went up to the counter and asked, "Are you Jesus?" "Well, yes, I am," the man answered. "Do you work here?" "Actually," Jesus responded, "I own the store. You are free to wander up and down the aisles, see what it is I sell, and then make a list of what you want. When you are finished, come back here, and we'll see what we can do for you."

So, the woman did just that. And what she saw thrilled her. There was peace on earth, no more war, no hunger or poverty, peace in families, no more drugs, harmony, clean air. She wrote furiously and finally approached the counter, handing a long list to Jesus. He skimmed the paper, and then smiling at her said, "No problem." Reaching under the counter, he grabbed some packets and laid them out on the counter. Confused, she asked, "What are these?" Jesus replied: "These are seed packets. You see, this is a catalogue store." Surprised the woman blurted out, "You mean I don't get the finished product?" "No," Jesus gently responded. "This is a place of dreams. You come and see what it looks like, and I give you the seeds. Then you plant the seeds. You go home and nurture them and help them to grow and someone else reaps the benefits." "Oh," she said, deeply disappointed in Jesus. Then she turned around and left the store without buying anything.

Adapted by Susan R. Andrews, as told in Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life, F. and M. Brussat, editors (New York: Scribner, 1996), p. 359.

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Breaking Through in Little Ways

When Jesus tells John's people what to look for, it's not big, grandiose stuff. As concerns signs of the kingdom, Jesus points to people who couldn't see much, seeing more...people who couldn't climb out of bed in the morning, playing Ring Around the Rosie in the town square...Previously untouchable lepers kissing their wives and hugging their children....and the poor, hearing a good sermon for a change. And I suppose if you're blind, lame, poor or your skin used to be all scales and scabs, that's big time stuff. But can you build a kingdom on it?

Apparently, Jesus thinks you can. He doesn't care whether it's "big time stuff" or not. As concerns the kingdom, it breaks through in little ways. But it breaks through. As if to illustrate his point, he talks about a seed that nobody can see growing. But it's in there. I mean, it's already in there. You aren't going to see it come to maturity all at once. In the version we sang last Sunday: "First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn shall appear."

No, you may not see it. But neither are you going to be able to stop it. It's like that dandelion that finds a crack in the asphalt. Or creates a crack in the asphalt. Not only does it have presence, but there is an inevitability to its appearance.

William A. Ritter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

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Full of Fear

The world is full of fears, and most of us, if we are honest about it, are forced to admit that there have been times in our lives when we were afraid - I don't mean a little bit scared. No, I'm talking about those times when we were truly, knee-knocking, scared spitless. We may or may
not have been in a life-threatening situation, but we can all remember a moment frozen in time when we were gripped by an all-encompassing fear, a fear that blinded us to everything else around us.

I bring all this up because I have heard other pastors preach on this text from the Gospel of Matthew before. And in some of those sermons, John the Baptist took a lot of heat from the preacher for his "lack of vision." I think a terrible injustice has been done here.

You see, it is my belief that John the Baptist was in the grip of the kind of fear we've been talking about. Wouldn't you be afraid if you were alone in a cold, dark, damp prison cell, not knowing what's going to happen next, but keenly aware of the animosity your captor feels for you?

Johnny Dean, Are You the One?

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Illustrations for Isaiah 35:1-10
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I Always Have a Reason to Sing

Music gives us the opportunity to express our joy and thanksgiving.

The famous preacher of another generation C.H. Spurgeon once said, “I used to know an old Methodist; and the first thing in the morning, when he got up, he began singing a bit of a Methodist hymn; and if I met the old man during the day, he was always singing. I have seen him in his little workshop, with his lapstone on his knee, and he was always singing, and beating with his hammer. When I said to him once, ‘Why do you always sing, dear brother?’ he replied, ‘Because I always have something to sing about.’”

That’s a good enough reason to sing. In Isaiah’s prophecy Isaiah promises the people that they will one day return to Zion. Zion is symbolic of Jerusalem, of the Promised Land. Isaiah was writing during the times of the divided kingdom. The land had been overrun numerous times by their enemies. Prisoners of war had been carried off to become slaves in distant lands. Isaiah promises that one day they will be able to return home to Zion, the city of God. For them this will be a time of great joy and so they sing.

King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

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Walking on the Moon Doesn’t Compare

For Christians, Zion is that city of God which is heaven. And again, when we enter that place of eternal promise, there will be singing. For those of us who know Christ’s love in our hearts, there is a need to say thank you to God for what God has done for us.

Charles Duke, a former astronaut, came to Christ some years after walking on the moon. After his time with NASA he had lacked purpose and meaning in his life. His wife, Dottie, was also troubled. In fact, she contemplated suicide. But then she began to attend church where she gave her life to Christ. Sometime later at his wife’s Bible study Charles Duke gave his life to Jesus as well. He found a new and compelling purpose for his life. Today he offers this comment on his conversion, “Walking on the moon cannot compare with walking on earth with Jesus.”

When you feel like that you want to sing. Music allows us to express our joy and thanksgiving.

King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com