The Rev. Suzanne Wille, preaching
Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-11; I Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
I speak to you in the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen+
For years I’ve had
Hung over my desk
A ragged photocopy
Of an image from the Isenheim Altarpiece,
Created by Matthias Grunewald
500 years ago
For the monastery of St. Anthony.
On the front of the altarpiece
Is a large crucifixion scene.
At first, you think it’s pretty standard:
Christ on the cross,
Mary, mother of Jesus,
comforted by the beloved disciple,
And Mary Magdalene kneeling before Jesus.
Then you notice
That Jesus is covered in sores,
Sores like those who were suffering
From the plague at the time,
And you learn that the monastery
Acted as a kind of hospital
For plague victims
And those suffering from other skin diseases.
When they went to the chapel for prayer
They saw a savior who suffered
As they were suffering.
And then off to the side,
There’s John the Baptist,
Arm raised,
One long, bony finger pointing to Christ.
Next to him, in Latin,
These words:
“He must increase; I must decrease,”
Which John says later,
After the scene
We read in today’s Gospel.
Of course, John the Baptist
Couldn’t have been at the crucifixion;
He was beheaded much earlier by Herod.
Yet on the altarpiece,
There he is, head attached,
Pointing . . .
And that is John’s whole function—
To point to Jesus.
To point others,
To point us,
To Jesus.
That’s why I keep
This image near me:
So I remember THAT
Is my number one job,
In preaching,
In pastoral care,
In teaching,
Even in administration:
Point to Jesus.
In fact, I think
That is the job
Not just of pastors
But of all Christians.
And that’s what John
Is doing in today’s Gospel.
He’s not baptizing.
He’s not railing
At people to repent.
No, he is pointing to Jesus,
Revealing for all around him
Who Jesus is:
“Here is the Lamb of God
Who takes away the sin of the world!”
He testifies to what he
Has seen and known,
Pointing away from himself;
Pointing others to Jesus.
In this way, John is as much of an Epiphany figure As an Advent one, Revealing the nature of Jesus, Not only as prophet and teacher, But as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. Even at the beginning Of the Gospel story, Just as Jesus appears on the scene, John, here more Witness than Baptist, Reveals Jesus’ ending: the cross. Anyone listening Would have heard “lamb of God” And thought of the Paschal Lamb, Slain to save others. John points to Jesus as the Paschal Lamb, For us, suffering to Take away the sins of the world. ****************** This weekend John the Baptist Puts me in mind of another One who used his whole life to point to Jesus: The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Whom we honor each year on this weekend. Dr. King knew that he must decrease As he pointed to a Jesus who knew the suffering Of an oppressed people, Who in 20th century America Was not a man covered in the sores But a Jesus who spoke of the inherent worth of all people In the Beatitudes; He knew he must decrease As he pointed to hope For equality, dignity, and civil rights. When he spoke before 250,000 people During the 1963 March on Washington, King’s speech started to falter, And Mahalia Jackson, sitting behind King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Encouraged him: “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” Suddenly, Dr. King looks up from his notes And launches into an improvised section of his speech, The one punctuated, over and over again, With “I have a dream.” And throughout that speech He pointed to a dream That his children “Will one day live in a nation Where they will not be judged by the color of their skin But the content of their character.” He pointed to a dream That one day in Georgia "The sons of former slaves And the sons of former slave owners Will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” He pointed to the vision in Isaiah when “Every valley shall be exalted, Every hill and mountain shall be made low . . The crooked places will be made straight, And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” King pointed to a dream larger than himself. He pointed away from himself And towards a vision. He gave people hope, Soaring rhetoric That caused people's spirits to soar too, To look beyond themselves, Their own selfishness, Their own fear, Their own suffering, To something greater than themselves. But Dr. King’s hope Was more than rhetoric, It was grounded in Jesus, Anchored by the cross. For though Dr. King Was a Civil Rights leader, even more he was a preacher, Even more he was a theologian, With a doctorate in systematic theology. He believed “The Cross is the eternal expression Of the length to which God will go In order to restore broken community.” And King believed it was the cross That could lead to racial reconciliation, For racism, segregation, injustice are sins, Sins that estrange us from one another and shatter communities. The only hope that that brokenness— Sin and death—don’t have the final word Is the cross, which is God’s defeat Of sin, of death, of segregation and injustice, Of distrust and enmity between races. Five years after the March on Washington, Dr. King preached for the last time, This time in Memphis, The night before he was killed. He had borne his cross But always pointed ahead to God’s dream. In this last speech, Dr. King ends by testifying That he has been to the mountaintop; He’s seen the promised land. He says to the people gathered, “I may not get there with you. But I want you to know . . . That we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” As if he knew what would happen next, He says he doesn’t mind if he doesn’t live long, For “I just want to do God’s will.” I just want to do God’s will. . . . On this second Sunday after the Epiphany, As we continue to experience Revelations of who Jesus really is, Whether in his baptism, Or the announcement by Andrew— “We have found the Messiah!”— Or the Sermon on the Mount, Or in his Transfiguration, Or through a long, bony finger Pointed by John the Baptist Declaring, “Here is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” Let us point away from ourselves, Like John, and point towards The vision that Dr. King pointed to, Where there is neither Jew nor Greek, Male more female, slave nor free, Where all are treated with dignity, And former enemies can sit down And eat together as friends. Let us point towards The One who is our only hope Of realizing that dream: The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. King, Jr., Martin Luther. Stride Toward Freedom, pp. 105-6.