ARE YOU THE ONE?
by Bob Wickizer
Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalms 146:4-8, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-12
Are You the One?
Bob Wickizer
Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:4-9; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11
Are you the one?
I am writing this sermon on a damp, cool, foggy, Thursday morning. Visibility at our house is about 300 yards. Sounds are muffled. Nothing sounds familiar. For me, it is a total change of perspective compared to the bright sunny days last week. This is a change of perspective we are all familiar with. It changes how you experience the world, how you behave, and how you interpret things. Maybe the fog dampens your enthusiasm. Perhaps the cold and damp send your thoughts to darker things you would rather forget. You are just not the same person as on a sunny day.
Consider John the Baptist's situation. A week earlier he was waist deep in the Jordan baptizing people for forgiveness of sins. People in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea made the difficult and sometimes dangerous thirty-mile journey three thousand vertical feet down to the Jordan River upstream from where it dumps into the Dead Sea. These folks were motivated walking for two days on a steep incline.
Today, John is in a prison cell. Herod's daughter called for the head of John the Baptist in a bit of palace intrigue. Herod was obliged by his vow, and now the most righteous human to walk the planet. The one who baptizes Jesus is in prison with a death sentence. That change in perspective is a bit more than foggy versus sunny weather don't you think?
True, his diet was unique - insects and honey. And his wardrobe was unique - camel skin turned so the hairy part was against his skin and the hide turned outward. Very itchy. But he had freedom to do what he was called to do, say what he wanted to say including insulting the Sadducees and Pharisees, and think what he wanted to think. At the Jordan, he knew that Jesus whom he baptized was the anointed one, the messiah who was to come.
But in the confines of a damp, dark prison cell, maybe he is not so sure. Perhaps he needs reassurance ...
Bob Wickizer
Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:4-9; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11
Are you the one?
I am writing this sermon on a damp, cool, foggy, Thursday morning. Visibility at our house is about 300 yards. Sounds are muffled. Nothing sounds familiar. For me, it is a total change of perspective compared to the bright sunny days last week. This is a change of perspective we are all familiar with. It changes how you experience the world, how you behave, and how you interpret things. Maybe the fog dampens your enthusiasm. Perhaps the cold and damp send your thoughts to darker things you would rather forget. You are just not the same person as on a sunny day.
Consider John the Baptist's situation. A week earlier he was waist deep in the Jordan baptizing people for forgiveness of sins. People in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea made the difficult and sometimes dangerous thirty-mile journey three thousand vertical feet down to the Jordan River upstream from where it dumps into the Dead Sea. These folks were motivated walking for two days on a steep incline.
Today, John is in a prison cell. Herod's daughter called for the head of John the Baptist in a bit of palace intrigue. Herod was obliged by his vow, and now the most righteous human to walk the planet. The one who baptizes Jesus is in prison with a death sentence. That change in perspective is a bit more than foggy versus sunny weather don't you think?
True, his diet was unique - insects and honey. And his wardrobe was unique - camel skin turned so the hairy part was against his skin and the hide turned outward. Very itchy. But he had freedom to do what he was called to do, say what he wanted to say including insulting the Sadducees and Pharisees, and think what he wanted to think. At the Jordan, he knew that Jesus whom he baptized was the anointed one, the messiah who was to come.
But in the confines of a damp, dark prison cell, maybe he is not so sure. Perhaps he needs reassurance ...
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