(Sermon adapted from a sermon by Pr. Erik Rottmann, Grace Lutheran Church, Versailles, MO)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

I’d like to thank Pastor Erik Rottman of Versailles, Missouri, for this sermon is an light adaptation of his excellent sermon.

John, a man sent from God. Sent for what purpose? As a witness, to testify concerning the light. Isn’t that the task of each and every one of us? If you have faith, are you not to be a witness to the faith that lies with in you? Unfortunately, being a witness isn’t always something we like to do. Being a witness concerning Christ in our world isn’t easy. You know what, it never was. It got John the Baptist beheaded.

You know what, St. John the Baptist is offensive. He makes people uncomfortable. People do not necessarily feel uncomfortable about his camel skin clothing or even about the locust legs that are stuck between his teeth. St. John's very existence is offensive and discomforting. It is not only the preaching that comes out of his mouth that disquiets them, but it is the preaching which takes place by his very existence that offends. Even when he says not a word, the people know what he believes, what he teaches, what he confesses with his life's conduct. That is what is so offensive about St. John. That is what makes people uncomfortable with him.

St. John the Baptist refuses to be ruled by his own self_indulgence and his own petty desires. He recognizes that his life is part of something much greater than the pursuit of his own happiness. "He came as a witness to testify concerning that Light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the Light, he came only as a witness to the Light."

But more than refusing to be ruled by his own self_indulgence and by his own creature comforts, St. John preaches that others likewise must not be made slaves to their own desires. With his words and with his actions, St. John makes clear what all people already know at the level of their conscience. By living in such conscious repentance and by such deliberate turning away from serving himself, St. John condemns the people for their self_service, for their unrepentant living, for their persistent denials of their own consciences. This is what makes St. John so offensive and so jarring.

The natural desire is for the people to condemn St. John as self-righteous or "holier-than-thou." They have already rejected the divine Word that St. John had been sent to preach. They have decided to listen to a new word, a humanly created word, a word that wants nothing to do with the divine Word St. John is given to preach. And they think him self_righteous for not joining them in embracing their philosophical swill!

"The Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask [St. John] who he was." More to the point, they wanted to ask St. John where he gets off saying the things that he has the gall to say. St. John answers by pointing to Jesus. "He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, 'I am not the Christ.'"

And that truly is St. John's so-called "problem"; that is his great offense: He believes himself answerable not to the priests and Levites, but to Another. He believes that his life, his conduct and his words are not about him. They are about the One promised from God.

St. John knows that his own life truly has no meaning and no substance apart from the One whose sandals he is not worthy to untie. St. John baptizes, not because he necessarily understands every dimension of Baptism, but because God has given the gift of Baptism. He speaks, not because he has opinions on every subject, but because he is a witness to the Light, "so that through him all men might believe." He calls people to repentance by exposing their self_absorption so that they may truly turn and see that their life belongs to another. St. John forces the people's eyes off from themselves so that they may see Jesus.

St. John has no defense against his offensiveness, either. He has no defense because of that which the people cannot see. They see his outward existence, but they cannot see that this outward existence arises out of the inner gift of faith which has been given to St. John by the powerful Word of God. They see his behavior, but they do not see how much St. John detests his own behavior, refusing to lay any importance upon it at all and trusting only in Jesus.

The people do not see St. John's own, ongoing struggle against the idolatry of his flesh; they do not see the constant presence of his own evil that continually condemns him; they do not see his own, daily need to return to the blessings of Baptism, receiving there once again the great joy of sins forgiven. The people find St. John offensive because they cannot see that he walks the same road that they walk, he fights the same demons they fight, he suffers the same doubts that they suffer. The one and only difference for St. John is his fixation on the Christ who proclaims freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners (Isaiah 61:1).

St. John's Word from God is your Word from God, dear saints. St. John's faith is the same faith that you have been given. The forgiveness that Christ Jesus earned for St. John likewise is given to you, full and free. St. John is offensive, but so also are all those who "testify concerning the Light" by both their words and deeds. Look past the camel hair and the grasshoppers. Maybe this ragged prophet is not a whole lot different from you after all.

Today, we continue in the same task as St. John, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Today, without even knowing it, little Jessalyn joins us, she is a bold witness today. As she is brought to the font, her parents are confessing her sinfulness. In bringing here, they are confessing her great need for forgiveness and the blessings of Christ’s Spirit to strengthen and keep her in the faith.

Here today, she is freed from her captivity to sin and released from the darkness of this world - she now walks in the light - the same light which was the only illumination for St. John, for me, and for all of you.

Today, we return to the faith of our baptism, confessing our sins and fixing our eyes on Christ who will keep us blameless until His second Advent. May we always testify to that light, so that through Him, all men might believe. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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