The other night I was in the Coborn's video section, looking at the family holiday movies. A crisis of faith, particularly whether Santa Claus is real, is a popular theme for many of them. Consider the classic "Miracle on 34th St." A little girl is raised by her mother to be rational and practical, and not to believe in nonsense, but then she is forced to confront the question-Is there a Santa Claus? Others, much more recent, unmistakably base their story on that question, like "The Santa Clause" with Tim Allen, who can't believe he is to be the next Santa Claus and everyone else who don't believe in Santa; "Elf," the story about a baby raised as one of Santa's elves who when he grows up goes back to New York to deal with his real father who is on the naughty list partially because he isn't a believer, and "Polar Express," a magical train trip to the North Pole to convince a boy who was having doubts about Santa Claus.

Now, it bothers me a bit because faith is presented in these movies as something we decide to do. When it comes to Santa Claus that is true. After a certain age, we do decide to believe in Santa Claus, but I fear people may be inclined to extend that to the faith they have in Christ, a faith that has been given to them by the Holy Spirit. But that's another matter. The point is these movies all deal with a crisis of faith-just like it appears John is doing.

No, John isn't wondering if there is a Santa Claus. John is wondering if Jesus is who He says He is. Well, at least it looks like he is wondering.

Is he? You couldn't blame him if he was. John is sitting in prison. Jesus is out there. One of the Gospels speaks of Jesus releasing from prison...and John sits there in one, waiting on death row. So John sends his followers to ask and Jesus says to those followers, "Look and see. Tell John what you hear and see. You are hearing and seeing all the signs the prophets had said would happen. The bonds of sin and the curse of creation are being broken."

Was John actually having a crisis of faith? Maybe, but it doesn't matter. By this question, he prepares his disciples, his followers, for his own death. As John's disciples hear this answer, they will become even more convinced Jesus is the one to follow, especially after John is gone. Jesus is the Messiah, the promised One, the Christ. John's question, intentionally or not, directs them to this fact. Even if these were truly doubts right before his death, John points to Jesus.

No big surprise that John should point to Jesus in his death. It's what he did in his birth. Actually, he wasn't even born yet. He was six months old in his mother's womb. He hears the voice of the Christ's mother, and he jumps. He doesn't just kick. He leaps. John is excited. He is here; the Christ is here already. That was his birth.

Now John is preparing to die. He knows he is not going to get out of prison. He asks the question which directs not just his disciples but us as well to say, "Yeah, Jesus of Nazareth really is the guy. He is the Christ." And John does that in his death.

In birth, in death and of course, in life, John was busy pointing to the Christ-and that's what Jesus chooses to start talking about. As John's disciples leave, convinced Jesus is the Christ, on their way back to proclaim it to John, Jesus starts talking about John. Was John what you expected?

Was he what you would expect in a preacher? Jesus' description of John is one that condemns me and just about any preacher. "Did you expect to see a reed shaken by the wind?" Jesus asks. How tempting it is to be shaken by the wind, a reed blowing first this way and then that. Asking the question, "What would the people like to hear? What can I do so more people will want to hear me?" That is a huge temptation for any preacher. None of us want to be rejected, but we struggle with our calling to be faithful. We are tempted to compromise. We are tempted to fear men rather than God, to look at our attendance and based on that decide what we should and shouldn't say.

I'm sure John struggled like the rest of us, but he was faithful to his calling and as a result he was rejected for it. He could have had a cushy life. He could have been wealthy. He could have had it made. He had talent and conviction, but conviction doesn't sit well with certain people, especially the ones who could make or break your life.

John was popular. No doubt about that. Crowds of people went out to hear him preach, because he spoke with authority. His words were like knives. They did surgery, but not everyone wants to be operated on. He told the king he was wrong to marry his brother's wife. Kings don't like that. They like people who make them look good. Those are the ones who live in king's houses, who wear the soft clothes that are in the latest fashion. The king likes yes men. John was not a yes man.

When tax collectors asked him how they ought to live, John told them what they already knew. Don't take more than you should. He didn't tell them to explore their motives. He simply said, "Don't cheat." Soldiers got the same treatment. "Don't extort money. Don't accuse people falsely. Be content with your pay." You see? It's things they already knew they were doing. John just wouldn't let them hide it anymore.

The Lord had called John to prepare the way for the Christ, not just point to the Christ, but to prepare the way by getting the people to see their sin and their need for what He brings.

Are we preparing for Him? Are we willing to confess our sin? Just like the soldiers and the tax collectors, we don't need to explore hidden motives. We don't need to search in the back closets, get magnifying glasses or night vision goggles. We know our sin. It's out in the front room. We always have to tiptoe around it. We try to ignore it. Hide it from ourselves and from God. In fact, we spend a lot of time and energy defending it. We may even claim it is divine, given to us by God. We know better. I don't need to speak of any sin in particular. The Holy Spirit is doing that already for each of us.

Did you notice the candle for the third Sunday in Advent is pink? It's what is pictured on the bulletin also. The pink is because today is called Gaudete Sunday, coming from the first word of the Introit, "Rejoice."

But what is there to rejoice in what I just said? Just this: Today you can be set free from that sin. I don't mean that you will never do it again, but I do mean you will be set free from protecting it, from feeling the need to hide it. It takes an awful lot of energy to deny your sin. It sucks out our life all the while telling us we are doing the exact opposite. It tells us we are preserving it. It lies. We are a slave to the sin we try to deny. It dictates what we do, determining many of our actions. It saps our energy, so we have less for other things, like doing what the Lord would have us do.

Being set free is what happens today, even now.

What did Jesus direct John's disciples to see? All the miracles that will come once the Christ has arrived. This is the rejoice part. Prisoners are set free; good news is preached to the poor. Do we see ourselves in these descriptions? Look at the rest of the list in a spiritual way. The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are healed, the deaf hear, and the dead live again. Our sin blinds us, plugs our ears, cripples us, infects us, and even keeps us in perpetual death.

Jesus has come to reverse all that. The O.T. prophets had said this would happen. Of course, they were talking about it literally, describing the time when Jesus returned, but they didn't realize He would come twice. Still, it did literally happen in bits and pieces during Jesus life. But it also happens in our lives, as we prepare for His return.

Like I said in the message before the service to the children, we look beyond Christmas. Our sight is too short, if we stop with the birth. His coming means we are set free. He was already doing it when He was here on earth the first time, He will complete it when He returns, and it was His death that did it.

His death broke the hold of sin. It cannot hold you any longer. You are one of His own, and He has already set you free. Don't let yourself be imprisoned by your sin, a slave to the master from which He has already set you free. You don't need to try to hide your sin so God can't see it. You don't need to try to make yourself appear righteous in God's eyes. This is what He has done in Christ. You are free to admit your sin is yours. Then you are free to hear you are forgiven.

Look beyond Christmas to the cross, and see what is brought to you today from His death. Then look beyond the Cross and even today to His return, and see what He brings. This is John's message, His joyous message, the one he spoke turning the children back to the faith of their fathers. It's the one we hear today which gives us reason to rejoice.

AMEN