At the first coming, St. John prepared the way. And now, as we ponder the Gospel text for today, we hear how the Lord sends word to John the Baptizer telling Him and all others, He is here – the Lord is at hand. Now is the time that everything is going to be taken care of. Now is the time that you and I hear the calls from John and Jesus. This call is a great call of faith and life and joy. This call presents our Lord before us as a Lord who is with us today and will promise to come to us again on the Last Day. “On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry Announces that the Lord is nigh; Awake and harken, for He brings Glad tidings of the King of kings.” So is the first verse of our sermon hymn this day.

And its these words of this hymn, “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” that help us to focus on what this day in the church year is all about. At this parish for years we used white candles for the Advent Wreath. You may have noticed that the Advent Wreath that we now have is different than the wreath we use to have. Not only is the wreath itself new but the candles are new as well. The candles have color. The old tradition says that white candles are to be used. However, in more recent times violet candles have been used to match the season. And then there is that one “rose” colored candle which we lit today. Today is the day we call to mind how our Lord is at hand and how John the Baptist announced “with glad tidings” that the King of kings has come. This candle is known as the “rejoicing” candle. This day stands out as we see before us our King and with John we rejoice that He is at hand.

As we look at the text for this day from Matthew chapter eleven we see how John asks an important question and Jesus gives and important answer. The answer is comprehensive and Jesus tells the disciples of John and John himself, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured and the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is being preached to the poor.” Please notice that each one of these words that Jesus used to explain to John that He is the “real deal” is set in the present tense. In other words, John can rejoice, the world can rejoice, we even today can rejoice because the Lord is at hand. He is with us. He is here to make things right between us and the Father. He is here to give direction to the lost, comfort to the sorrowful and strength to the week. He is here and today is the day we rejoice.

The hymn we sang says in the third stanza, “We hail Thee as our Savior, Lord, Our refuge and our great reward; Without Thy grace we waste away Like flowers that wither and decay.” We can almost here from the words of our Jesus saying to the disciples of John, “Go back and tell John about the great gift that you now have. Go and tell and rejoice over the great reward that grace has given to all of you.” You see, Jesus wanted to show John what He has done for all people. It wasn’t just a series of good deeds and miraculous works for a few people. Rather the work that Jesus would share with John through His disciples was for him as well. Even though John would be in prison the Good News that the blind had sight and the dead were raised was for John. John was on target proclaiming the joy of Jesus. John could rest assured that he was not in prison for following a false god. John knew now that Jesus is the one and even in prison or death his conscience could be at rest.

It can be very difficult to be left in a position where we are not sure. I very much dislike “not being sure.” When a big decision for the parish-family comes up I want to be sure we are making the right decision. There is usually a fair amount at stake. We wonder if the wrong decision will hurt some people or have a lasting effect that would be less than desirable. We want to make sure we are making the right decision. We are at times left without knowing exactly what to do. And then it gets even worse after we make that hard decision and we wonder if we had made a different choice if things would have worked out better. And then we agonize over such things. We want to make the right decisions and we hope we do but we just don’t know. What is the right decision?

For sure John could have had such things creep into his mind as he sat in prison wondering if Jesus is really the one. And I’m sure such things have been a part of our minds as well. We wonder if we have made the right choices when it comes to our family needs, our work, going to this doctor or to this store. We can agonize over such things but there is more that meets our conscience.

We agonize over our faith. All of us do. It might not be whether or not there is a God. We may agonize over God’s perceived silence in the face of adversity. Our faith may shake when adversity rears its ugly head at us. What if you were confronted with death for your faith like John the Baptizer? Would you ask; are you really worth dying for, Lord? Are you really worth putting everything on the line for? Lord, are you worth getting up on Sunday morning for? Are you worth weekday school for? Are you worth risking someone thinking that we are “holy rollers” if we talk about Jesus to them? Are you worth it, Lord? Do we know?

Yes we do know – and we should know – and have what we need to know. Yes, The Lord and your life are worth it. But what makes us question such things is what we struggle with each and every day. When we think we are struggling with God we are actually struggling with ourselves. Our sin gets in the way. Our hope in reason believes we can figure it all out. Our assuming nature that makes us believe that we only need God part of the time – or will call on him only when we need him. Our sin gets in the way of knowing what true “worth” is all about. It may have been that way with John the Baptizer, or his disciples. It definitely was that way with others in the Bible – Peter not excluded – and it is with us. We are in good “is it worth it” company. But this is no excuse for us.

It’s worth it. This is how we know. What Jesus did for you and for me is never to be doubted. It happened and it happened for you. He died for you and that’s the fact. Is it worth it? Absolutely! Is He worth getting out of bed for? No question. Is He worth talking to every day? Yes. Is He worth living for? There is no doubt. Is He worth dying for? Most definitely Yes! Why? Because He died for you. Never doubt that. Never let it come across your mind that such a thing might be for someone else, but maybe not for you. Never let uncertainty settle into your heart and make you become complacent or think that it doesn’t matter for you and your family. You need Jesus. Your kids are going to need Jesus. Your family that is sitting next to you – I’m talking about your parish-family needs Jesus and they need you. We need you. I need you. The community of Platte Woods needs you. Kansas City needs you. America needs you. The World needs you. Jesus needs you.

And the time is now. The Lord is at hand. Prepare for His coming – because we do not know the day or the hour. Yes, we know the day and the hour of Jesus’ coming in the manger (so to speak). We have already seen that – we have already celebrated that. We will celebrate again. But celebrate, too, Him coming today in His Word and Sacraments. Celebrate with hearts of thanksgiving and joy our Lord’s coming again by living in Christ each day. He will give you comfort and joy through the strength He provides for you in the Gospel. The Lord is at hand. REJOICE!!

Amen. The peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.