I traveled to Denver earlier this month to take part in an event at our Synod office for pastors who are new to our Synod. There’s a lot I could share about the meeting, but that’s a sermon for another day. What I want to tell you about today has to do with my rental car. It came with a free GPS device. For those of you unfamiliar with what a GPS is, it stands for Global Positioning System.
     Here’s how it works. It’s a device with a screen and a bunch of buttons at the bottom. When you turn it on, it automatically knows the location of the car. So, you can enter an address into it and it will give you directions from your current location to that address. And when I say directions, I mean directions. The screen shows you the grid of streets around you location and a pink line indicates the direction you need to go. The street names of upcoming turns are printed out and scanned across the bottom. A woman’s voice speaks to you, telling you how far ahead the turn is and what lane you need to be in. And there are series of bells that ring indicating that the turn is now.
     It seems like a dream gadget, doesn’t it? How many times have we wished for something or someone to just tell us how to get from point A to point B – not just in our driving, but in our life?! I have to say, though, even with all those directions, I still ended up taking the long way. My first attempt at using it trying to meet up with my friend, Chris, in downtown Denver, I accidentally found myself entering a parking garage. Let me guarantee you, this was not the GPS device’s fault! What I learned from my car’s GPS device is that I can have all the directions I want, but I still need to learn how to listen to them. I still need to figure out how to understand the direction giver.
    John the baptist shows up in our Gospel reading again today and he is a long way from where he was last week when we heard from him. Last week, his voice was strong. He was sure of himself. He was calling the Jewish leaders a brood of vipers and preparing the people for the arrival of Jesus, saying Jesus was coming with a baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. Saying Jesus was coming with a winnowing fork in his hand with which he would separate the wheat from the chaff. He was preparing the people for the Messiah who was expected to come with political, social and economic deliverance – who was expected to destroy the unrepentant.
     This week, John’s voice sounds a bit weaker. He’s in jail after all – cutoff from his community, unsure of his future. He has heard about what Jesus is doing – the healings, the cleansings, the raising of the dead – and his confidence has gone out the window. "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"
     Prophets were like human GPS devices of Biblical times. God used them to give people direction – to tell them the way to go. John was one of these prophets. Jesus affirms this in our Gospel today calling John more than a prophet. He is the messenger sent before the Messiah to prepare the way. So, if John is all that Jesus says he is, there are two questions that come to mind. How did he seemingly get it all wrong? Why the questioning?
     Regarding John being wrong, his message wasn’t so much incorrect as it was incomplete. He didn’t understand that Jesus was on a mission that he had to do before the coming judgement. Jesus’ miracles and teaching were part of this mission. His death and resurrection were part of this mission. As a prophet, John received words from God that he was to tell the people. But, he was also human! He had human expectations of what the Messiah was going to be like. When his human expectations didn’t match up with Jesus’ deeds, he questioned. It’s what most of us would do in his situation. Jesus didn’t condemn him for his questions. Instead, he sent John’s disciples back to him telling them to share with John what they were seeing and hearing from Jesus.
     This Advent, I think Jesus might have that same message for us. He is asking us to hear what he says. He is asking us to see what he is doing. It’s not always so easy, though, is it? Like John, sometimes our own expectations of who Jesus is or what He is all about gets in our way of hearing and seeing him. Or, we simply haven’t yet trained ourselves to listen to him yet.    
     Using that GPS device in my rental car hit home the value of learning to listen in a new way. I eventually did figure it out by the way! By the time I turned the car in, I had that thing mastered! Now, I don’t think I’ll ever master listening to Jesus. There is a mysterious and hidden quality to Him that is always present. Still, I know I can learn to listen a little better than I already do. You can, too! You can learn how He speaks by reading his Word. You can hear him by finding more time for prayer and not just prayer when you talk, but when you leave time to listen – to hear what Jesus might be trying to tell you. You can see his deeds by looking out on the world and your life with eyes of faith – with eyes that intentionally look for Jesus’ actions and deeds.
     This Advent, even as we wait for Christ to come, He is already here. Speaking good news to the poor. Showing mercy and kindness in acts of love – often through human hands. Giving direction. Holy God, give us ears to listen to, eyes to see, and minds to understand the grace and guidance we receive from our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.