Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Our text this morning is from our Gospel, particularly these words,

“In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar .... the Word of God came to John, son of Zechariah. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah, the prophet: ‘A voice of one calling in the desert: PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE LORD.’”

“Prepare the Way for the Lord.” That was the simple essence of John’s the Baptist’s message. It’s that same simple message that comes down through 2,000 years to you and to me today, but what does it mean? When we hear those words, what goes through our minds? When we hear those words, what changes do we see in our lives?

This past week, my secretary, Gina, was on a week of well-earned vacation, so I spent the week as best I could playing both the role of pastor and secretary. Now before I get a lot of you after worship scolding me at the door, telling me I should have called you to help, let me assure you that whenever Gina is not in the office I do the bare minimum necessary as secretary. There is truly a pile of stuff waiting for Gina’s return, most of it requires her own expert knowledge and attention.

Anyway, after a week of playing pastor and secretary, by Friday after lunch I was ready to get out of the office, but I couldn’t go home since I still had our “Good Friday” Youth Outreach that evening, so I decided to take a break from the office and enjoy the beautiful afternoon by giving a little TLC to the roses around the campus. A little sun. A little exercise. A big change of scenery. Not only did it do me a world of good, but I am so glad I did that because I got to witness a modern day John the Baptist and those words “Prepare the Way of the Lord” took on a whole new meaning.

Any of you who have been around the church campus during any weekday that school is in session may know that we have a crossing guard who faithfully stands duty right here at the corner of Los Robles and Buckeye. The same crossing guard has been there for multiple years now. I usually see him at least twice a day and he and I wave to each other, but I can’t say I have really ever taken the time to observe and appreciate what he does. But on Friday, as I was tending the roses at the base of the tower, with my back turned to the corner of Los Robles and Buckeye, I heard something that caught my attention. I dismissed it the first time, but then I heard it a couple more times. Voices – little voices of children – saying “Thank You!”

My experience is that you don’t often hear those words flow voluntarily and unprompted from the mouths of children, so I turned to see who was being thanked and why and I realized that the children heading home after a long week of school at James Madison Elementary School were saying “Thank You” to the crossing guard.

As you know I can sometimes be pretty emotional, so with a few tears in my eyes at hearing those beautiful words from the mouths of children, I stood and watched what the crossing guard did. I stood and watched with amazement. I stood and watched with admiration. With no Moms or Dads present and the lives of those little ones entrusted to him, the crossing guard, wearing his reflective green vest with his red flashing hand-held STOP sign, over and over again took his life into his own hands, stepping into the afternoon traffic on the Los Robles speedway, waving down cars traveling North first and then South. With those cars had stopped and with Mr. Crossing Guard firmly planted in the middle of Los Robles, with a wave from their friend, the children began their journey in safety across Los Robles. As they’d pass the crossing guard, many would yell a cheerful, happy, heartfelt “Thank You.”

A modern day John the Baptist: “Prepare the Way.”

Watching that scene a couple times Friday afternoon, I came to better understand the ministry of John the Baptist, which was really a two-fold ministry.

First there was his ministry of getting people’s attention and getting them to slow down. Without any doubt, John did that very effectively. St. Matthew (chapter 3) tells us that John wore an itchy, scratchy, smelly camel’s hair smock with a leather belt tied around his waist. His diet consisted of destructive, migratory grasshoppers and honey. He hung out by himself like a hermit in the desert. He always yelled out “REPENT.” And whenever someone would have a religious experience and claim they had repented, he’d take them down into the Jordan River and baptize them. If that didn’t get people’s attention, if that didn’t get people to slow down and notice something different in life, not much would. The Gospel writers tell us that people from the entire region flocked to John the Baptist. That shows that the first part of his ministry – as much of a crazy freak show as it may have been to many – was indeed effective and successful.

Then came his second ministry of getting people in safety from one place in life to another. John knew that his role was not to do things by or for himself. No, his message was clear: “PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE LORD,” the One Who had long promised to refine and purify and launder people, the One Who had promised to not to destroy people, but to return to them [Malachi 3:1-7b], the One Who had promised to make straight paths, to fill-in valleys, to make mountains and hills low, to straighten crooked roads and to smooth out rough places in life [Luke 3:4-6]. As proven by many of the people coming to see John, people John called a “brood of vipers,”destined for nothing but death and destruction, the people had no hope to achieve those things by themselves, so John’s ministry was to point them to Jesus, “the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world” [John 1:29].

Through the past 2,000 years, John’s two-fold ministry has remained the same. Even today he gets out attention as one of those strange characters in the Bible, conveying to us the message to slow down and take note – that something important is going to happen. Then he doesn’t just leave us standing there all alone, but his message continues to convey to us the eternal safety we all desire, the eternal safety we all need: the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, our Savior.

So this week and next week and the week beyond that, as you’re rushing through life to get that house decorated and those presents purchased and wrapped and those cards mailed and the Christmas Day menu planned and purchased, stop and notice those modern day John the Baptists, those crossing guards posted throughout our cities, and allow them to remind you to slow down during this Advent season and allow yourself to live in safety through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Pastor Christopher Schaar
Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena