Advent 3 - pointing to Jesus
John 1: 6-8, 19-28 There is a character from the Christmas story who very rarely makes it onto the Christmas cards, although he is the ‘star’ of our Gospel reading today – John the Baptist. So I have provided you all with an image of him to take away today. This is a statue from the Charles bridge in Prague, and in this depiction John is doing what he does best.. wearing animal skins and carrying a scallop shell as a sign of baptism, and he is pointing. You’ll find many images of John the Baptist pointing - John and Jesus as infant cousins, with John pointing to Jesus; - John in the desert, pointing to a distant figure pf Jesus coming towards the river for baptism; - John baptising Jesus and pointing to him as the Spirit descends in the form of a dove - Even John standing at the cross, pointing to Jesus as he is crucified. John – always pointing – and always pointing to Jesus . The reading we heard makes it absolutely clear ‘he himself was not th