Some of the students saw him walking to the church service and so they stopped to pick him up. I decided twenty years ago, and I have just followed through on that commitment every Sunday. Maybe it is something along those lines, but you have come expecting something today. The reality is that the images of Advent are images of emptiness and needfulness. There is the image of darkness, a desert, lonely shepherds, and the image of a family that could not find a room for the night.
Advent is about searching with empty baskets.
As we search together this morning, I want us to look in three places. First, the question of John the Baptist, second are the words of the prophet Isaiah, and finally, let us look at the answer that Jesus gives to John's question. Let's begin with John. The first time we encounter John in Advent, he is preaching in the desert and proclaiming the good news of the coming of the Messiah. He is a confident messenger who is telling all who are coming to hear that now is the time to repent, change your ways, and prepare for the one who is coming.