John 1:6-8, 19-28 Dear Partner in Preaching No complaints this week about the RCL Advent readings. Yes, it’s week two of an adult John the Baptist (meant to orient us to John’s role as the forerunner of Jesus and fulfillment of messianic expectation). Yes, this will make almost no sense to our folks absent our explanations. Yes, they could have chosen a story from Luke 1 about Elizabeth’s conception of the child John and made the same point. Yes, this jumping around in timelines for theological purposes was probably helpful when folks really knew their Bible but today probably only makes it harder for folks to learn the biblical...

John 1:6-8, 19-28 Dear Partner in Preaching, Oh, for a few more folks like John the Baptist these days! That was my overriding reaction when I read of John’s unusual, even odd, and certainly negative “confession.” John the Baptist’s role in the Fourth Gospel is a little different than it is in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Starting with the fact that he’s not actually identified as John the Baptist. Yes, he baptizes. But while in the Synoptics he baptizes Jesus, he does not do so in this account. Instead, his primary role is to witness. As it says, in what can feel like a misplaced verse in the prologue – although I think it clarifies...