When he was praised by a BBC interviewer for his marvelous voice, Luciano Pavarotti said this: "Don't praise me for the instrument. God made it. All I did was to have the discipline to learn how to play it!"
Luciano could have been John the Baptist when he said that. Luciano recognized that he was to take what God had given him and use it for God's glory. That was what John the Baptist was to do also, to have the discipline to do what he was sent to do.
Look at the words of Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, In verses 76 and 77 of the gospel lesson he says, "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins". It was John's job to take this gift of being a prophet and to use it in service to the Lord.
John was to tell people that it is through the forgiveness of their sins that they will receive salvation. It is in no other way that salvation comes, but by God's forgiveness. And John was to tell that. In telling that, John prepared the way for the coming of the Lord.
But why; why is that important? Why does God choose to prepare the way for Jesus to come by using John the Baptist? Why not just have Jesus come and do what He’s come to do? Why does God do this sort of thing? Why does He use things and people and not just do His work apart from us?
The short answer is, I don’t know why. I don’t know why it is that God chooses to use people and things and events to convey His message of forgiveness. But I do know that that is what God does choose to do. God chooses to use instruments, like John, to accomplish things. God makes use of things, events, and people to let us know of His glory, and to prepare people for the salvation that is theirs through His choice to forgive their sins. Look at the banner for VBS (Vacation Bible School) here with the symbol of the manger on it. That manger was a thing that God used in delivering His Son into this world to do the work of forgiveness. That thing, that manger God still uses today in our telling of Jesus coming to this world.
God makes use of things and people to tell of the great wonder of Jesus coming to earth to reveal the love of God to this world. It will always be a mystery why that’s His choice but that’s what we’re given. We are to be His tools and instruments, if we’re willing. Jesus was willing to use the tools of the manger and the cross to do the work that accomplished our forgiveness. He was willing.
Now, I know there are times when I’ve used tools, tools that seem unwilling. They seem to want to work against me. Sometimes it seems as though the tool has a mind of its own and just won’t do what I need it to do. But our heart, as a tool of God, is to willingly serve our master. The heart, an instrument of God, seeks to please Him. It isn’t up to the tool to decide for itself what the work is, but to comply with what the craftsman wants to do.
Ever heard of a lapidary? A lapidary is a person who cuts and polishes precious stones. A lapidary can take a diamond in the rough, put it in a vice, and strike it with his tools, instantly increasing its value and its beauty. His hammering on the diamond looks destructive, yet it’s his blows that give the diamond its beauty. In the same way, the lapidary's abrasive polishing instruments may appear to be damaging the stone, yet in His skillful hand those instruments greatly increase the stone’s value and beauty.
In this world, we’re the hammer, the vice, and the abrasive polishing instruments. We are what God graciously chooses to use to show the world His heart of love and forgiveness. After all, that’s what we’re told we’re to be about, when Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them and teaching them.
We’re to be the tools that God uses to deliver His message of forgiveness that hammers away at sin. We are the abrasive instruments that speak of God's mercy to those who are crushed under the weight of their burdens. John the Baptist was an abrasive guy, as we read about later in his story, but his message was always that of repentance and faith in God and His mercy.
God also uses other things to show us His message of love. He uses bread and wine to give us Christ’s body and blood. He uses water for baptism. He uses medicine and doctors to fix sick and broken bodies. God uses tools like John the Baptist to tell His good news of love and forgiveness. But God's tools are willing tools. God uses those who are willing to be used. That’s His chosen method for accomplishing things in this world.
We’re God's tools like that lapidary uses. We’re instruments like in an orchestra or like a surgeon uses. The difference, though, is that we can say no to the surgeon or the music director. But why would we want to do that? Why would we turn from what the lapidary wants us to do? And what is it that He wants you specifically to do? Always remember, this isn’t about us working for our salvation; this is about our response to the salvation that’s ours through God's forgiveness.
So think about being God's tools in this way. What does God want to do through us here at Mount Olive Lutheran Church? We have everybody we need here to do and accomplish what God wants us to do. It’s simply a matter of us putting our hands to the plow and doing the work. It’s about following through on what we say we’ll do. It’s like one preacher told his congregation when they were starting a new project, he said, "We have all the money we need to do this project; the only thing is we need to get it from your pockets into the church’s pocket."
The same is true about being used by God in this place. We have everybody we need to accomplish the things that God wants us to do. We just need to be willing to do that. The point is, God will use us as we are willing to be used. Let me give you something to think about in this regard. In the coming year we’ll need a new congregational president, vice-president, treasurer, and secretary. Who will do those things? There are people here who have those skills and talents, will they be used?
And age isn’t a factor in this either. You don’t retire from being an instrument of God. Look at Abraham! He didn’t leave his fathers house to follow the promise of God until he was 75 years old! Yes, but you say, "people lived longer then". Well, you’re still here, aren’t you? Yes, you say, "But I have this or that issue". Look at Moses! He had a speech impediment, yet God used him to speak to all of Israel, to Pharaoh, and to you and me today through scripture. Or you say, "I’m too young to be involved". That doesn’t hold up either! Samuel was only a boy when he went into serve God as an assistant to the priest, Eli. No, it comes down to willingness on our part.
We are called to follow after Christ, our leader. We have a choice to make about our participation. God has called us to be one in heart and mind here. That can only happen as we are willing. God's will is what we seek and that is what we seek to do. His will is at the heart of who we are. When it comes to doing God’s will, are we willing to work His will and not our own?
When it comes to being God's tools, how are we to think about ourselves? What do we use to remind ourselves that God is the maker and master of our days? Consider this: you can’t start a car without keys. This week, when you get in your car to go somewhere and you take out your keys, pause a moment and think about what you’re about to do.
You’re about to use a key, a tool, to accomplish something. Let that remind you of what God does with you. Remember that God uses you to accomplish things. Does God need you to do His work? Yes, He does need you. Can He work without you? Yes, but that leaves you out, not Him. He will do and accomplish His will. But He uses tools, like keys, in order to show His power in your life. Yes, you can refuse, but why?
Determine instead to be like Pavarotti and learn to use the tools that God has given you for His glory. Be that hammer in God's hand that strikes a blow for the freedom of a friend or neighbor from their chain of sin. Use your talents and gifts here so that we can continue to preach the good news of salvation that is ours by God's forgiveness to the world. Let your voice be heard that speaks of the heart of God that wants this world to know that by grace through faith in Jesus Christ He has made us all His instruments. In Jesus name, Amen.