"[John the Baptist] went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Lk. 3:3).

Our liturgy today presents us with the ministry of the prophets, and the figure of John the Baptist, the last and greatest of God’s prophets before the coming of Jesus Christ. The prophets announce God’s will for his People Israel, interpreting the events that are taking place around them, and in the process of interpretation turning them into a sacred history. In other words, what is taking place is not simply "what’s happening", but (more significantly) the way in which God is working, history with a meaning and a purpose that the prophet reveals.

John’s role, in the Gospel of Luke from which we read today, is to signify a major shift in God’s dealings with the world. History is changing; now God is preparing the People for the coming of the Savior. John’s role is to prepare the People of God by proclaiming a baptism of repentance, a symbolic act signifying a turning away from sin and a turning toward God and his forgiveness. In doing so, John is interpreting events and even becoming a part of them: proclaiming God’s will for the People, and calling them to the new life that God is creating.

Prophetic proclamation continues as a part of the Church’s ministry. Now, however, the Church no longer proclaims simply a message of repentance, but the Good News of what God has done in Jesus Christ. This proclamation is not addressed only to the People of God, but principally to the world that God has created. The mission of the Church is "to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ" (BCP, 855): evangelism, in other words. This focuses the Church’s proclamation outside; as the Mission Statement of the Diocese of Louisiana puts it, our mission consists in "reaching out to seekers".

The proclamation of the Gospel of new life in Jesus Christ is only the beginning of how we pursue our mission. Our parish’s mission statement mentions a four-fold pattern to our life together as a community: not only proclaiming, but welcoming, forming, and sending. "As a Christian community, we are called to embody Christ’s life by proclaiming the Gospel of his death and resurrection, welcoming others into relationship with the Risen Lord, forming ourselves and others in the new life of discipleship, and by sending and being sent in the power of the Holy Spirit in mission to the world. This we will do through God’s grace."

Not only prophetic ministries of proclamation are needed in the Church, but also different ministries of hospitality, education, and service. This is why there are a variety of ministries in the Church, and varieties of gifts of the Spirit. This is why Newcomer Ministry is a crucial part of our life at Christ Church; why Christian Formation is crucial; why Outreach and Service are crucial. This is our mission, the only one that the Church is given, and it binds proclaiming, welcoming, forming, and sending together.

But note that the focus is firmly outward. The proclamation is addressed to the world; the good news or "evangel" makes us reach out to others. The Church, as Archbishop Temple said many years ago, is the only institution that exists for those who are not its members. Or we might modify that and say, those who are not yet, in God’s time, its members.

This brings us to the liturgy of welcome we celebrate today, for our "Journey in Christ" process. "Journey in Christ" is a process in which proclaiming, welcoming, forming, and sending take place, with a firm emphasis on the world outside. All of our programs at Christ Church are about the same thing, of course, but this process is one in which the pattern is very clear. Today we are celebrating with some members of the Church who are deepening their faith, but with many more who today are welcomed as baptized members of the Church in preparation for confirmation, and with two who are preparing for baptism. Others are involved as leaders and as sponsors. This process reminds us that our mission as the Church lies outside ourselves, and that the prophetic ministry of proclamation is ours as well.

Prophets proclaim and interpret; they turn "what’s happening" into the history of what God is doing. There is no doubt that God is at work here this Advent, leading us as a community of faith to embrace the new life which Jesus offers us in all its fulness.

The Rev’d John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.

Return to Recent Sermons