What is Greatness?

Scripture: John 1: 6-8, 19-28

I think this is a series of questions that I have asked you before but let’s try again.

Who is the greatest hockey player of all time?

• Bobby Orr, Gretzky, Lemieux, Gordie Howe…

Who is the greatest baseball player of all time?

• Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio, Ohtani?

Who is the greatest basketball player of all time?

• Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaq

Who is the greatest soccer player of all time?

• Ronaldo, Maradona, Messi, Sinclair

We could probably debate the merits of these players all day. Here is a different question to consider, what makes them great?

What makes someone great? What makes you great?

We see greatness talked about often. Someone who is great will be referred to as the GOAT, greatest of all time. It takes on a bit of a life of its own. We can get caught up on it, its exciting to be around or be a part of. However, it is important to know our role or purpose in things. Even if we are great, do we understand why? How it happened, what are the implications of being great?

Our gospel reading this morning might make us contrast being great with being humble.

One of the aspects that I enjoy from this passage is the posture of humility that John the Baptist assumes. John is asked if he is the Messiah, he clarifies that he is not and then he goes a step further. John confesses who he is not and in doing so tells us who he is. He is the voice crying out in the wilderness. The one who comes before the one who is great. When speaking of himself in comparison to Jesus, John tells those that are present that he is unworthy of untying Jesus’ sandals.

John provides clarity about who he is and what his role is in the cosmic drama that is unfolding. And in John’s gospel, the introduction to John the Baptist is interesting. We get sentences of dramatic poetry which explain how God has brought creation forth. Poetry used to express a science that the first tellers of that story couldn’t know.

There is a kabbalistic story in which the boundless, formless, unified Holy One wished to know its Holy Self, and so it contracted and poured itself into vessels. But the Divine Radiance was too much for these limited containers, and so they shattered, scattering shards of broken light across the universe, giving birth to all that is. (Center for Action and Contemplation – https://cac.org/daily-meditations/mending-the-world/) That is the message of the first few verses of John’s gospel and then a disruption if you will which introduces us to John the Baptist. Who is the light, what is the light that is spoken of?

Timothy Adkins-Jones writes, “One might think of it [the light] as life force, the animating power of our lives, and the darkness cannot extinguish this light. John is a witness to this light, to life, to Jesus the Christ who came to give us life, and life more abundantly.” (Timothy Adkins-Jones – https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-of-advent-2/commentary-on-john-16-8-19-28-6)

The birth of this light, that is what we will celebrate next week on Christmas Eve. The birth of the light but look around you. Look right now, what do you see?

You see each other, your family and friends, members of this community of faith. You see this familiar sanctuary. How is it that you can see? Because it is light out. The darkness is not here.

When the scribes and Pharisees were questioning John about his ministry, they failed to realize that the light was present amongst them. Jesus is already present among the crowds and the people when John is preaching. John and Jesus, they are of a similar age, with only months separating their births. The crowd, the pharisees, and the scribes are unable to recognize him. They could not sense the presence of the light that was all around them.

A reminder to us, be attentive to images of light so that we might recognize the work of Christ around us.

And why does the light need to come and enter into the world again? We find hints of that in the reading from Isaiah, a passage that in Luke’s gospel Jesus preaches from and declares has been fulfilled in his reading of it. We read in Isaiah that God loves justices and dislikes wrongdoing. Anathea Portier-Young notes an interesting common factor about both Jesus and Isaiah, she writes, “Isaiah and Jesus did not shy away from speaking to the concrete, material conditions of society. Their preaching was an intervention. The gospel is here revealed to be for the poor, for the brokenhearted, for the captive and the prisoner. There is here no glorification of poverty, but rather a recognition that low socioeconomic status and systemic injustice are causes of sorrow.” (Anathea Portier-Young – https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-of-advent-2/commentary-on-isaiah-611-4-8-11-6)

Isaiah reminded a people living in exile that this was important. That these issues were important to God. Jesus, he who is the light, arrives and confirms just how vitally important they are. As we approach Christmas, as we get ready for the birth of the Christ child, we are reminded of why Jesus was born and walked the earth in the first place. Of why John appeared with a posture of humility, proclaiming a gospel, asking that the paths be made straight, and professing the greatness of the one who would come after.

John knew the role and the work that he was called to. He knew his purpose, he confessed as to who he was. The one who came to point the way towards the light.

What is our purpose? Is it to be great at something? Maybe. Is it to humbly serve our God? I hope so. Should we, as we read in Thessalonians, offer praise continually? To rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. In this Advent season this is our task. To rejoice and to prepare the way for the light of the world. Amen.