Regardless of whether you watched the unfolding events at the chapel on the campus of Asbury University, particularly during this season of Lent, I have been struck by the similarities between the events unfolding at Asbury and the ministry of John the Baptist. As the weekly chapel worship service at Asbury continued well beyond its scheduled ending, the students stayed because, whether they could put a name to it or not, they didn’t want to leave the presence that they felt in that place. In Christian circles, we would say that they felt the presence of God. Reports say that they were called to a closeness with God, they felt the call of God upon their lives, and they felt a call and a need for repentance.
That chapel service continued for the rest of that day, on into the night, and for more than a week beyond its scheduled time. Students arranged to lead worship in shifts of sorts, not with an official schedule, but by choosing small groups of worship leaders from among those present as the Spirit led them. The names of the worship leaders weren’t given to the press because they wanted God to get the credit. If you knew who they were, you could find PhD’s bringing water to thirsty people in line, pushing wheelchairs, and guiding visitors to the nearest restroom.
Students and adults from nearby towns came first, then folks from out of state, and brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world. They came to see, and to feel, this thing that God was doing and, by the accounts that I have read, they were deeply moved and came away changed, even if their visit was brief. But of course, they weren’t the only ones that came. Asbury’s campus was also visited by the media, the curious, by academics who had written about an earlier Asbury revival in the 1970’s, by “ministry professionals” with decades of experience, and some who were openly skeptical.
Within days, the academics, the skeptics, and the “ministry professionals” could be found online, critiquing Asbury, its students, the worship leaders, and everything about that event. Whether you want to call it a revival or something else, it reminded me a lot of Jesus’ baptism. John was admittedly more than a little odd. He dressed in camel hair, ate locusts and wild honey, and wandered the countryside preaching a message of repentance. But as odd as he was, people felt something in his presence. People from across the entire region flocked to hear him, to repent of their sin, recommit their lives to following God, and be baptized as an outward sign of their repentance.
But mixed in among those whose lives were changed were the curious, the academics, the skeptics, and the “ministry professionals.” The Pharisees then, as the modern equivalents are doing even now, insisted that this isn’t how God works, that John was doing it wrong, that the people were being deceived, and that certainly, as professionals, they knew better. And yet, God didn’t choose to work through them. God has always chosen unexpected, under-prepared, and often unqualified people, in unexpected places, to do unexpected things, and following paths that surprise us.
So, what was really happening at Asbury University? I won’t pretend to have all the answers, but it seems safe to say that God was doing something, even if we can’t put a name to it, or explain exactly what it was. After all, scholars and skeptics are still trying to explain what John the Baptist’s ministry was about, what he accomplished, and what God was doing through him. I’m certain that books and countless internet articles will debate what happened at Asbury for decades to come. But from my perspective, I think that we can all find comfort, reassurance, and a timely message for Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent.
We are both comforted and reassured as we see God engaged in human affairs. God has not abandoned us. God still walks the earth and is still calling us to follow him. But particularly in this season of Lent, just as we heard from the ministry of John the Baptist, we are reminded that God is calling us to repent of our sins and to recommit our lives to following God. I’m certain that as you read about what happened in Kentucky on the campus of Asbury University, that you will hear the voices of the skeptics, the critics, and the “ministry professionals” proclaiming that they know better. But I also hope that you will hear the quiet voice of God in these remarkable events as he says, “Follow me, and I will give you rest.”
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28
It is probably no surprise to anyone to hear that we are living in an unusual time in history. But what I mean in saying such a thing, is that we are living in a time when we can see the freight train coming. We are as an American society in the twenty-first century, very much in the position of the damsel Nell Fenwick who has been tied to the railroad tracks by Snidely Whiplash and is desperately hoping for the arrival of Dudley Do-Right to come and rescue her. We can see the freight train of rising virus cases caused by Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year gatherings and we can anticipate the terrible consequences but there is little, or nothing that we can do to stop the train. The only things that we can do… is hope.
But, as unusual as this might be, it is not unique in history. As I have mentioned in recent weeks, the prophet Isaiah lived in just such a time. In about 700 BC, Isiah and the people of Israel watched as the Assyrian Empire grew in power, influence, and military might and the Assyrian King Sennacharib had already brought his armies to the gates of Jerusalem. Through God’s grace, Israel was saved, but Isaiah knew that those armies would be back, that Israel and Judah would be captured, marched to Babylon, and held in captivity for seventy years. They saw the train coming down the tracks, they could anticipate the terrible consequences, and they were tempted to despair. But, as difficult as it must have been to hear about God’s judgement and the impending destruction of their nation, because Isaiah also prophecies their eventual return to Israel and proclaims Israel’s rescue and the coming Messiah, Isaiah’s message is ultimately a message… of hope.
Even though they saw the train coming, and they knew that hard times were coming, they knew that God cared about them and that God had a plan to rescue them. We hear a part this message in Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11:
61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
Isaiah speaks about the coming Messiah, we hear a message that we will hear again from John the Baptist, and we hear a message from a God who loves justice, and who loves and cares for his people. And that message, given to a people who watched as the freight train of the Assyrian army grew ever closer, shined like a beacon on a dark night and for hundreds of years, through invasions, captivity, destruction, suffering, sorrow, and death, this was a place where they could find hope.
And then, in John 1:6-8, 19-28, Isaiah’s vision becomes reality as John the Baptist announces the imminent arrival of Jesus.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John proclaimed that the time had finally come for the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, and that while he was not the messiah that God had promised, that messiah was already standing “among” them. After hundreds of years and many generations, the prayers of Israel’s people were being answered. God’s rescuer and redeemer had arrived, and the hope of the people was transformed… into joy.
Well, at least it did for some of them. John rejoiced, as did many of the people, but not everyone. It was the people that Isaiah had talked about who found joy in the coming of the messiah. It was the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, prisoners, those in mourning, the grieving, the people who suffered from injustice, robbery, and wrongdoing, it was the outcasts, the least, and the lost who rejoiced. But the wealthy, and those whom the system served, and whose success had been tied to the success of the system saw the coming of the messiah as a threat to their success and to their way of life. This disconnect between the haves and the have-nots grew until it exploded into violence, crucifixion, and death in the Easter story as the system struggled to maintain the status quo.
And later, long after the resurrection of Jesus, the church remembered the lesson of joy and in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica and gives them these words of instruction:
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
Rejoice always. Find joy in the story, in the message of Good News, and in the prophecies of God. Give thanks, at all times, for the things that God gives you, even when those times are difficult. Do not cast aside the prophecies and promises of God just because you think that God is taking too long, or that there is too much pain, or too much suffering, or that your circumstances are too hard. Instead, test the prophecies of God to find the truth. Test them against what you know about God. Hold on to what is good because we know that God is good. Reject every kind of evil, because we know that God is never found in any kind of evil deeds. Our God is a god of peace who is always faithful and who always keeps his promises.
In some ways, our joy is a test. The coming of Jesus was intended to upset the apple cart and to disrupt the status quo. We are called to rejoice in that disruption and not be so married to our success, to our wealth, our culture, and to the status quo that we become like Israel’s leaders and reject Jesus simply on the basis that his existence will be disruptive and make our lives more complicated. Secondly, we are invited to test all of God’s prophecies because we know that God is always good and so we know that what God wants for us is good and that we can reject anything that is evil as not being godly.
The coming of Jesus at Christmas is intended to bring good news of great joy.
Let us rejoice.
But let us remember to find joy in the right things.
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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.
What feelings come to mind as you think about Christmas?
What emotions get stirred within you?
Most of us immediately begin to think of gamily gatherings around the Christmas tree, and opening presents, and families that get along with one another and are reunited at Christmas time. For many of us the Christmas carol, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen sounds about right when it says…
God rest ye merry, gentlemen Let nothing you dismay Remember, Christ, our Saviour Was born on Christmas day To save us all from Satan’s power When we were gone astray O tidings of comfort and joy Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy.
Tidings of comfort and joy sounds like a good summary for our feelings as well as for the message of the Christmas story. And, quite often, that’s close to the truth for some of us. Naturally, there are those among us whose childhoods were not idyllic, or who are struggling with unemployment, or homelessness, or divorce, or any number of other things that tend to make our emotions complicated. But the message of scripture reminds us that Christmas itself, although filled with “good news of great joy,” is also more than just a story of comfort and joy. We begin, once again, with the promises of God given through the prophet Isaiah. (Isaiah 35:1-10)
35:1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. 9 No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah declares that the coming of the messiah will be a time of gladness, rejoicing, and joy and compares it to rain in the desert that brings hidden flowers to bloom which is, once again, a symbol of resurrection with life exploding out of what looked lifelessness. But while Israel waits for the coming of the messiah, Isaiah urges them to “be strong, do not fear, your God will come.” Be strong, be patient, because we worship a God who always keeps his promises. And then, in verse five, Isaiah shares the memorable words that Jesus would use to reassure an imprisoned John the Baptist. Jesus uses these words of Isaiah to tell John that he is indeed the messiah that God had promised. We hear that story in Matthew 11:2-11:
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
The Messiah had come, John the Baptist announced his arrival, but John was not experiencing comfort and joy. Instead, he was rotting in prison. I’ve visited the site where John is reputed to have been imprisoned, and whether that’s the actual site or if it was remotely similar, it was basically just a cave with bars on the door that would be cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and would probably have pools of water on the floor whenever there was a hard rain. And in that environment, John begins to worry that Jesus isn’t doing the things that he thought the messiah was supposed to be doing.
But rather than reassure John that comfort and joy would be coming soon, Jesus simply tells John’s followers to say that Isaiah’s words were being fulfilled. The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, lepers are healed, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. The messiah had come, but that didn’t guarantee that the suffering of the world was going to end (just yet) or that John, or anyone else, was going to find comfort and joy.
Jesus then speaks to the crowd and declares that John is the greatest prophet, indeed the greatest human being, ever born in Israel or anywhere else. And yet, John would endure suffering, imprisonment, and death before he received any kind of comfort and joy. How do we make sense of that? If the coming of the messiah was the fulfillment of God’s promises, why don’t God’s people find the comfort and joy we thought we were supposed to get? At least a part of the answer comes from James, the brother of Jesus in James 5:7-10 where we hear this:
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
The coming of the messiah is not the end, but it is the beginning of the end. James says that it’s like a farmer planting crops. The seeds have been planted but now we must wait for the harvest. While we find comfort and joy in knowing that the crops have been planted, we still must wait, patiently, until the harvest. In the same way, we are comforted in knowing that God has already begun to fulfill his promises. The messiah has come. We do find comfort and joy in the story of Christmas. But, at the same time, just as a farmer must wait for the rain, we must continue to wait patiently for coming of the messiah. On that day, we will receive unimaginable gifts of comfort and joy, but until then we understand that life will still be full of discomfort, pain, and suffering.
Our calling, today, is to be patient, not to grumble, but to care for one another.
Be patient.
Stand firm.
Because the Lord is near.
“Fear not then”, said the Angel “Let nothing you affright This day is born a Saviour Of a pure Virgin bright To free all those who trust in Him From Satan’s power and might” O tidings of comfort and joy Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy.
Now to the Lord sing praises All you within this place And with true love and brotherhood Each other now embrace This holy tide of Christmas All other doth deface O tidings of comfort and joy Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy.
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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.
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