Sermon for January 19, 2020 Epiphany 2A House of Prayer Lutheran Church

John 1:29-42; 1 Cor 1:1-9; Psalm 40

My wife Beth Ann and I met when we were in seminary, in Columbius, Ohio. Our second year there (this was before we were married) for my birthday she said, let’s go to our favorite restaurant, and then watch a movie at her apartment. OK, I said. So we made plans to go to the Starliner Diner--kind of an eclectically decorated Cuban place, out on the edge of town. They didn’t take reservations, so she offered to drive out there and when we walked in the door we found it was kind of crowded--it was a Friday night. We got to the counter and they told us it would be a 30 minute wait. “Sure, that’s fine” I said, “we’ll wait.” When we finally got seated the server told us the kitchen was a bit slow that night due to the large crowds. Beth Ann looks at me and she seems a little impatient, and says, “Do you just want to go to McDonalds instead?” And I just kind of laughed at her--”no, I don’t want to go to McDonalds for my birthday. We drove all the way out here, so let’s eat here.” Ok, she agreed, so we ordered and waited for our meal.

We had a nice meal, and as Beth Ann drove back, she’s driving kind of impatiently, and I’m like “don’t worry about it, the movie is not going to start without us.” Finally we got to her apartment, and walked in the door, and…...SURPRISE! A house full of people there to celebrate my birthday. I didn’t even have a clue. Surprises can be fun like that. Not every surprise is, though. Some can be scary. Some can be nerve-wracking. Some can inspirational.

Did you ever learn the story of Archimedes, the ancient Greek scientist? You can see the statue of him up on the screen. He was taking a bath, when he was inspired with the idea that he had been searching for: the principle of bouyancy. In other words, the amount of pressure the water was putting on his body was greater at the bottom of the bathtub, than at the top. And when he discovered this, Archimedes yelled: “EUREKA!” Which means, “I found it!” Surprise!!!

This kind of inspirational surprise is what we find in today’s gospel story with John the Baptist. As the gospel of John describes it, John didn’t really know when, exactly, the Messiah would be visiting his wilderness outpost. John only knew that God had sent him to baptize people, and that God wanted him to prepare the way for Jesus, and be ready for whenever he arrived.

So when John finally saw Jesus coming toward him for baptism [the AV guys in the back can switch to the other slide now], and when John saw God’s Spirit come upon Jesus--well, this was John’s “EUREKA” moment. He was surprised, AND he was ready.

It’s not that God hadn’t been at work in John’s life before--but it was a moment of surprise when he realized that God was finally fulfilling what he had been waiting so long for, right then and there! -- Here is the One whom God sent to forgive our sins! Look--here is the Lamb of God! Eureka! Wow! Surprise! He’s finally here.

Now I’d like to tell you a story of a time I felt surprised by God. There were some people I knew who I felt had not treated me well, and I was having a hard time forgiving them. And the more I thought about the situation, and the longer I held onto the grudge, the more miserable I felt. Even though I knew what the right thing to do was, I just couldn’t bring myself to forgive. And the longer I waited to forgive, the harder it was to feel like I ever could.

Well, eventually I was doing a small group study, and each session included a video segment about the theme of the day. And in this particular video a man was speaking about his experience of being convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and spending years in prison--I think his name was Darryl. He told of how he just couldn’t forgive the people who had done this to him, and how bitter he had become. Then one day he was reading the Bible, and he read what Jesus said when he was being crucified: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And EUREKA! Surprise! In that moment Darryl was inspired by the still, small voice of God, telling him, “You can’t forgive them, but I can forgive them through you.”

And as soon as he said that: EUREKA! I had my Surprise! -- surprised by God’s grace! “I can’t forgive them, but Jesus can forgive them through me.” God lifted this burden right off my heart, when I realized that. It was like John the Baptist appearing before me a saying: Look--here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

And that changed my life. Beginning with that Eureka moment, over time the bitterness and misery began to fade away, and I was much more at peace with myself, and able to extend Christ’s peace to others. I experienced the power of Christ’s forgiveness in a new way in my own life. Now, of course, Christ’s forgiveness was already there all along--but I finally realized it, and felt it, and put my faith in it. It was like the words of Psalm 40 were coming alive for me, of “waiting patiently for the Lord, who stooped to hear my cry, and lifted me out of the pit, out of the miry clay; and set my feet upon a rock, making my footsteps sure”.

What it took for me to find this was giving up my own failing efforts at forgiveness, handing them over to Jesus, and humbling myself enough to let Christ to stoop down and lift me up, and work within me. I’ll tell you, it wasn’t anything I did that got me to that point. It was the power of someone else being a “John the Baptist” in my life, and of pointing me toward Jesus.

Has someone else ever pointed you toward Jesus? I’d like to pause a moment here, and ask you to think of that person. Just think of them for a while, and then just turn to someone near you and tell them who you were thinking of that pointed you to Jesus.

One more example to share is St. Paul in today’s second lesson, who is trying to point the Corinthians to Jesus. The reason Paul was writing to the church in Corinth is they had been through a lot of difficulties; a lot of divisions. They needed healing in Christ. So Paul starts his letter by encouraging them; being like John the Baptist--pointing them to the same Jesus Christ who had been there for them all along, even when they forgot all about him.

And Paul says to them, “Look--I know you’ve been through a lot, and I know you’ve got a long way to go. But you’re going to make it through if you just remember: Jesus has already given you every spiritual gift you need to follow him. He will be faithful to you. So let go of the hurt you are holding onto, and hand it over to Christ. Wait, patiently, until Jesus surprises you with God’s grace. Be looking for the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Christ is with you--he’s been here all along, just waiting for the right time to lift you up.” Amen.