Introduction
Priests and Levites come to question John about who he is and what he is doing. He stays true to his calling, rejecting the chance to take glory for himself and, instead, stands in the light, pointing towards the one who is coming after him: Messiah.
Context
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi is released in the UK on Friday 15 December, having received a royal premiere earlier this week.
- Trump’s tweets continue to make the news, week after week. As yet, he seems certain of his number-one status, unbending in the face of criticism, commentary and fact-checking.
- Artist Banksy has staged his own version of a nativity play, The Alternativity, at his Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem. The project will be documented in a BBC2 broadcast at 9pm on Sunday night (17 Dec), directed by Danny Boyle. Also this week, some media sources believe they’ve finally got a photograph of the secretive Banksy himself.
- It’s also the Jewish festival of Hannukah, which runs from 12-20 December this year.
Reflection
It is 40 years since the first Star Wars film delighted audiences, and since then the movie franchise has become such a cultural phenomenon that its fictional Jedi belief system has made it from the screen to the UK census books. The attraction, perhaps, lies in its exploration of the hopes and tensions held within us all. Who are we meant to be? How can we become him or her? If we have found ourselves in darkness, is there a path back to the light?
In the official trailer for the new film, it seems Rey is trying to discover her path: ‘something inside me… it’s awake…I need someone to show me my place in all this’. She reaches out for help, but we’re left unsure whose hand she will take and which path she will choose. Voices and images present a maelstrom of possibilities: ‘we have a spark that will light the fire’; ‘fulfil your destiny’; ‘let the past die…that’s the only way to become what you were meant to be’. Rey is at a turning point and we’ll have to watch the full film to find out where she will go.
In today’s Gospel reading we meet John, a man whose destiny and path seem clear. He was ‘sent from God…to testify to the light’. Yet, when the priests and Levites come to question him, some sceptical, but others no doubt genuinely hopeful of finding answers and the right path, it must have been tempting for John to claim that significance for himself – to turn to the dark side. But John resists. He knows who he is and who he is not. He explains to them that it’s time to prepare, to ‘make straight the way of the Lord’, and look to ‘the one who is coming after me’. He is humble and honest enough to know his place is to be a wayfinder and an honest witness. We can only hope that Rey – and we ourselves – can meet with and recognise the wayfinders and witnesses sent to help us on our journeys towards the light.
John’s humility is striking. He shuns the glory in which he could have basked, instead saying, ‘I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal’ as he speaks about the coming Messiah. For an illustration of the polar opposite of John, we could look at the example of Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the USA. He’s a man who loves to keep the spotlight on himself – but less so the light of truth. Fact-checkers in the media continue to point out the times that he has lied or misled, or behaved and spoken in ways that simply seem inappropriate – especially for someone in such a position of power. Yet he remains certain in his belief of his own importance. Faced with criticism he barks “FAKE NEWS!” Such a contrast to John’s willingness to face questioning and offer simple, honest answers.
Bethlehem is the scene of Christ’s birth, where the light of which John speaks entered the world. But it’s also in a troubled place set in a political context that’s hard to understand and harder to resolve. Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel is so-called because while it has luxury like the Waldorf, it also stands next to the separation wall. The hotel’s windows open onto ‘the worst view in the world’ – another pun as the view is both political and aesthetic. That’s the setting for The Alternativity, and also his new Christmas artwork. It reads ‘Peace on Earth* (*Terms and conditions apply)’. Sunday’s documentary will no doubt be provocative, but sometimes art can help to shed light on difficult subjects – even if that light can sometimes expose things we’d rather forget.
Hanukkah is sometimes known as the festival of lights because of the custom of lighting candles on a nine-branched candlestick. Often these are placed in the windows of Jewish homes so that they are visible to passers-by, as a symbol of hope and celebration of God’s blessing. What symbols can we display to others of our own hope this Advent?
Prayer
When I am scared or confused and don’t know which way to turn,
Lord, shine your light.
When I have done wrong and I try to escape the consequences,
Lord, shine your light.
When I feel that I am worth nothing or I can’t feel your love,
Lord, shine your light.
When I learn about your ways or try to share them with others,
Lord, shine your light.
Amen.
Questions
- When have you had to face a choice between the light and the dark? If you think you chose well, what helped you to do that? If you think you chose badly, how did you find a way back, or are you still searching?
- How can you be a witness to the light for others?
Action
Explore the Banksy artwork together. If you have time to prepare it, show a range of Christmas card images, including some (or all) reading ‘Peace’ or ‘Peace on Earth’. Then show the Banksy image. ‘Peace on Earth’ is a phrase we’re used to seeing on Christmas cards each year. How does Banksy’s use of it make you feel? What do you think he was trying to say? Does his art shed light on situations or do you think it’s dark? In our own personal situations, do ‘terms and conditions apply’ to our willingness to be at peace with others? How do we think God would respond to this image?
Young people
If you’re using the Twitter activity in the Bible section of the young people’s resources (available to subscribers), include tweets from Trump and the previous president, Obama. They’re quite a contrast to each other! Who do they each seem to think they are? Who would you trust? Who seems more truthful? And are they humble, or arrogant?
Rebecca Froley was part of the launch team for ROOTS. She worships at her local Baptist church in the south London suburbs, not all that far from a short-lived Banksy ‘tribute’ to Ikea.
Hypertext links to other websites are for the convenience of users only and do not constitute any endorsement or authorisation by ROOTS for Churches Ltd.