Witnessing Actively

Witnessing Actively

John 1:1-14

I took two years of journalism in high school, and we were taught that in order to report a story, you had to answer some basic questions. We called them the 5 W’s and the 1 H: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Most of those questions could be answered by verifiable and checked facts – who, what, where, when, and how – which is why these are what make up most straight news stories.

The one question that is not always verifiable is “why.” Why did something happen? Why did they do it? Why was it this person who did it? We were taught that the “why” question was best left to the editorial page, since this was often opinion and not fact.

Over the years, we have all learned that it is difficult to report only the facts. The “why” question pops up all the time, even when we think we are just answering the factual “who, what, where, when, and how.” It pops up as we select which facts we think are important for explaining why something happened.

I think this is why there seems to be such separation in how different media present the news, and how differently people interpret the news. This is why people complain about the liberal media and the conservative mouthpieces. At both extremes, the “why” questions begin with an assumption about motives, which colors the facts as they are presented. But this isn’t really anything new.

We have four gospels in our New Testament, and they each report the coming of God in Jesus Christ differently. Matthew and Luke spend a lot of time in their gospels giving us the facts they have gathered to tell the story of Jesus. Matthew’s facts are primarily presented to tell the story to the Jews. Luke’s facts are primarily presented to tell the story to the Gentiles.

It is from the gospels of Matthew and Luke that we know the Christmas “who”: Jesus, Mary and Joseph, magi, shepherds, King Herod.

It is from their gospels that we know the Christmas “what”: Angel appears to Mary, Mary and Joseph travel, Mary gives birth to Jesus, shepherds and magi visit, Herod is not happy.

It is from their gospels that we know the Christmas “where”: Nazareth, Bethlehem, star in the East, Jerusalem, Egypt.

It is from their gospels that we know the Christmas “when”: a little over 2000 years ago, after the generations from Abraham to Jesus, during the time of Emperor Augustus when Quirinius was the governor.

Mark’s gospel, however, skips all of this. He jumps right in with John the Baptist in the wilderness. There are still a lot of facts and stories, nearly all of which are picked up by Matthew and Luke – but none of these stories are from before Jesus was baptized and began his ministry. If we only had Mark’s gospel, we wouldn’t know anything about the birth of Jesus. There are no angel visitations, no visits by shepherds or wise men, no deaths of the innocents. Bethlehem is never mentioned. And the only appearance of Jesus’ mother, who is unnamed, is to ask Jesus to come home because people are starting to complain that there is something off about Jesus.

And then there is John’s gospel. If he were telling his story today, it might begin like this: John 1, part 1

John’s gospel is the editorial page. John’s gospel is the investigative reporting trying to put the details within a bigger context. John’s gospel begins with deep background.

This is still the story of Jesus, because his beginning predates his baptism because he was at the very beginning. This story predates his birth at Bethlehem, because in him everything that is had its birth. This story predates everything because Jesus is not just the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger –heis the one who wraps all of creation in grace as we rest in his love.

John’s gospel tells us that Jesus’ story predates everything because Jesus did not come just to give us new life – heis the one who is the source of all that is living. John’s gospel tells us upfront that Jesus is co-eternal with God because he is God.

If you believe this, then this is the greatest story ever told about the greatest person ever born. But, as we were taught in journalism, your story is believable only if your sources are reliable. So, the gospel writer John tells us about one of his sources, John the Baptist. And if he were telling his story today, it might sound like this: John 1, part 2

If we accept that John the Baptist is a reliable source for this story, and that John’s only stake in the story is for others to believe, and not for his own gain, then we have the basis for a story we can trust. But we still might want some details, so we can decide for ourselves what to believe about Jesus.

If we were to interview John about this, he might say “Yes,I could have told you that Jesus was born as a baby to two Middle Eastern refugees – but that could have been the story for a lot of people. Yes, I could have told you that some received this news gladly and some were opposed to his coming, but this is true for just about anything that happens. Yes, Jesus would teach wonderful truths, and do some amazing things, and he paid a terrible price for his integrity – but similar claims have been made about others. If we only focus on the details, we will miss why Jesus was born, and why he lived among us, and why he died in our place, and why he was raised for us as the victor over sin and death. We will miss the bigger picture.”

We obviously can’t interview John, but I think he might have answered our questions something like this: John 1, part 3

The point of John’s gospel, and the point of the Christmas stories, is this: God Almighty, King of heaven, has come to be with us. The Good Newsof Christmas is that God Most High, creator of the universe, has humbled himself to show us what it means to be a child of God. The Good News of Christmas is that even though we live in the midst of the darkness of sin and death all around us, the Light of God shines forever, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

We have four written gospels to answer the world’s questions about the coming of Jesus. They were the best way then, and still an important way now, to witness to this coming and what it means for us, and for the world. But they are still just words on a page until they become our witness, until we can share what it means to us, and why we believe.

We, like John, are called to actively witness to the coming of Christ into our hearts, our lives, and our world. Our witness is incomplete is we only know the “who, what, where, when, and how” of Christmas. People will believe our witness when they can see in us a reliable source of God’s grace, love, forgiveness, and mercy – when they can see how believing makes a difference in us, and when they can see why the coming of Jesus should matter to them.

There are a lot of things which can make us happy at Christmas – family, friends, food, fellowship, music, decorations, presents, traditions, and serving others, as just a few examples. And it is good that during this season we do the things which make others happy. But there is only one gift who can give us joy, and he is Christ the Lord – and he is why we are here this morning! Let us stand and proclaim our joy at the gift of Jesus Christ!

Hymn 246 “Joy to the World”