John 1: 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.

So, a man walks up to a vending machine, puts in 5 quarters, pushes the button for a Diet Coke, and a sign comes on that says, “Thank you for your selection. Your Diet Coke is now being ordered from a bottling plant in Brazil, and is about to be mixed, bottled and shipped; please come back to claim your selection in seven days.” Would you come back for it next week? I would probably push the coin return button and move on to the next vending machine.

If anyone ever had the patience for that kind of thing, it is quickly disappearing in the digital age, under the influence of computer technology. If it takes more than a nanosecond between when I press a key and something happens on the computer screen, I confess to getting rather huffy. We’re growing so accustomed to ever shorter times between our actions and their rewards and results that I’m glad I don’t own a real boomerang. Should I throw it, by the time it comes back, I’m afraid I’ll have lost patience for its return, have forgotten that I it was coming, and gone on to other things, like texting or going out for a latte. Ow!

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Mark 1: 1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:   “I will send my messenger ahead of you,  who will prepare your way”— 3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord,  make straight paths for him.’” 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

When we go home today, or to a restaurant, and chew on roast sermon, I hope that it will be clear to everyone what it was about: reviving the lost art of confession. People then may ask, “But what does confession have to do with Advent and Christmas? That sounds so gloomy and serious. I’m all ready for sheep and shepherds and wise men, Mary and a manger. So, why are we muddling about with the likes of cranky old John the Baptist and his ministry of baptism, and of hearing people’s confessions?

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