By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, Rector"Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" This question from John the Baptist comes as a surprise. Earlier in the record of Matthew's gospel John met Jesus at the Jordan and baptized him. At that time he seemed to recognize Jesus as the Chosen One and in fact tried to prevent Jesus from being Baptized by him. He instead tried to have Jesus baptize him.
It was a wonderful moment of fulfillment. Jesus told him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. He immersed Jesus in the waters of the Jordan river and as Jesus came back on the banks of the river the heavens opened and a voice was heard to say "This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased."
This appearance of Jesus and brief encounter with John was full of the promise of the prophets. It was a time of announcement and discovery. John spent so much time denying that he was the Messiah, and telling people that the Chosen One was coming later. And here it was. The time was fulfilled. Jesus began him ministry after the Baptism, after the fasting and solitude in the desert and temptations by the Devil. He began by teaching and healing.
John, on the other hand, was interrupted in his ministry. He had criticized Herod for marrying his brother's wife and for this he was put in prison. People in authority do not like to be publicly criticized and there is a long tradition for leaders who put critics in prison. And there John heard about Jesus in a way that was detached.
Odd then, that he would send his disciples to Jesus to ask him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for anther?" What happened to John's resolve? What happened to the clarity he had at the Jordan River? Something caused him to wonder if he had been mistaken. Perhaps it was that Jesus didn't meet John's expectation. Like most of the Israelites, John spent much time expecting the Messiah and no doubt forming ideas about what the Messiah would be like and what he would do.
Like most of the Israelites Jesus encountered over time, after the initial splash of excitement, they had doubts and wondered. Ultimately that doubt would lead to a cross, but I get ahead of myself.
Jesus reminds the disciples of John what the Messiah was sent to do -- give sight to the blind, make the lame to walk, cleanse lepers, raise the dead and give good news to the poor. He concludes by saying "Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me." It is a reminder to John that the Messiah is here to heal and reconcile those in need to God. And in that moment of Grace similar to the moment at the banks of the Jordan River, it is John who needs that word of hope. It is John who needs healing and it is John who needs Good news.
The lessons of Advent are collections of words of hope to people in need of believing, who for whatever reason either grow tired of waiting or have their expectations frustrated. Even John the Baptist wondered if he should be looking for another.
What do we do when our expectations and patience for God are stretched beyond what we are comfortable with? When God dos not act in the way we think He should? Or have our priorities? We don't have to look too far to see those who have indeed gone looking elsewhere. I don't think it's dishonest to say that we ourselves at one time or another have wondered if we're wasting our time and that this can't be the one after all. There are times for all of us when we think that perhaps we must look for another.
These happen at low points in our lives. We may not be like John in an actual prison, but it's not too far off the mark to say that periods of frustration and doubt can be prisons of their own. Periods of grief and illness, periods of physical, emotional or psychic pain -- each of these can be prisons. Perhaps John wondered why Jesus didn't come to get him out. If I had been John and done all the advance work for Jesus' appearance I think I would have had some expectations of Jesus helping out a little bit with the local Amnesty International Chapter. John's probable lament of "Hey, what about me?" is echoed in the voice of any person whose life long beliefs and good works seem to merit special attention from God. When that special attention or intervention doesn't come in a timely or desired fashion, doubt creeps in. Maybe I should look for another. This implies that "another" would certainly do what I want.
Most of you know how the story ends for John the Baptist. It wasn't a happy ending. While in prison, the wife of Herod that John had criticized conspired to have him killed and in fact John was beheaded while in prison. On thing we can say about the Bible is that they don't sugar coat their stories. It's real life in a time that was brutal. We live in times that are also tough and often brutal. War to corporate crime, to young people with guns shooting and killing innocent people in public places. Brutality and injustice seem to thrive and our expectations of the Chosen One shift to the needs of our culture. And the promises we've been given seem to weaken in the wake of our painful realities.
Still, for each brutal act from the killing of John the Baptist to the murder of innocents in a midwestern mall there are acts of kindness and hope that meet the challenges and responds of love to the victims and families. Those who are cripples by grief are made to walk again in time. Those who are blinded by anger or fear are given sight to see beyond their pain and fear. Those who have died in their loss of hope are resurrected with a new sense through the love of God working in each of us for good. And all who are poor in spirit have good news preached to them. This happens through God's love and grace. We live in a world that is not immune to suffering, but even in that suffering God is present and leads us beyond. God also took on suffering, not only the cross, but the doubt and betrayal of friends and disciples.
Jesus was clear in his identity and his mission and as such continues as a beacon to all of us who would allow the pain and disappointments of this world to bring us down.
Advent is a time of expectant energy. It is a time to remind ourselves through the stories of our scriptures and ancestors in the faith to remain open and hopeful. To remember that eve in times of crippling doubt and the prisons of despair that we do see the blind recieving their sight and lame walking and the lepers cleansed, the dead raised. We are the poor who have good news to bring. And we are blessed in this. Amen.
© 2007 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ
Posts
