Matthew
11:2-11
2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was
doing, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, "Are you the one
who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" 4 Jesus answered them,
"Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and
the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no
offense at me." 7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds
about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed
shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft
robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did
you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This
is the one about whom it is written, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead
of you, who will prepare your way before you.' 11 Truly I tell you, among those
born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in
the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
"Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for
another?"
·
Waiting is not something we like to do. Whether we are waiting for
a train, a plane, a doctor, a phone call, a package, a rain shower, or an
animal while hunting, waiting and patience are not easily done.
·
That’s why Advent is a tough time for some people. We want the
Christmas decorations up, the Christmas carols sung, the presents visible, and
the feasting to begin. All of this should be planned BEFORE Advent so we can
enjoy the Christmas celebration nice and early. These and so many other things
are to be done before the holiday… and it’s exhausting!
·
More than preparation, Advent is about waiting. It has the feeling
of race cars waiting to begin the race, revving their engines or race horses
nervously waiting for the start, “champing at the bit” as the old saying goes.
·
What are we waiting for? In all honesty, some of us are waiting
for the season to end, simply because it IS so busy and tiring. Some are waiting
for it to start since it could be restful and refreshing. The season of Advent
always looks beyond itself and doesn’t stand alone.
·
Along with all the other things the church does in this season,
the church clears a space that can allow us to think about and talk about what
we sometimes call “the real meaning of Christmas.”
·
John the Baptizer asks the question that might be our own under
certain circumstances: Are you the one who is to come, or are we
to wait for another?
·
Remember that John’s in prison and is hearing rumours of what
Jesus is doing. He sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus the question - Are
you the one…? Some say John believed that Jesus was the Messiah and
wanted to give his followers an insight since his ministry was winding down with
his imprisonment and foreseeable death. He had stepped on too many toes and
wanted his followers to transfer to Jesus. Some other commentators say John did
not yet believe that Jesus was the Messiah and wanted to know for himself.
·
In any event, Jesus was not the Messiah that was expected. He
didn’t fulfill the ideas that many had of the Messiah. He wasn’t an earthly
king, a great war leader, or a flashy and powerful celebrity who would be
acknowledged by all. Maybe John wondered about that or maybe he saw through
those false identities to the real Messiah.
·
What Jesus showed him were examples of Messianic things: Go
and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor
have good news brought to them. These are all sign of the presence
of the Messiah, although they are unexpected signs. Instead of lording it over
the nations and the peoples, Jesus shifts the ground on which they all stand.
He heals and make right what is broken in a much broader sense. He is not a
Messiah that changes governments and ruling structures; he is a Messiah that
changes the world. Things don’t always look different because the structures of
ruling stand for a time, but what they are built upon is utterly changed.
·
So we wait… for the celebration of Christmas and for the renewal
and healing promised in the birth we celebrate at Christmas.
·
There is a difference in these two waits. Preparing for December
25, we do things – shopping, baking, and all rest – to make ready to remember a
past event. As wonderful as the event we call Christmas is, there is more.
Preparing for what the Nativity promises takes us in another direction. In
that, we prepare to know and share the grace of God in a way that makes the
promise of the Nativity real.
·
The German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: The celebration of Advent is possible
only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and
imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come. It is the
promise of something greater that we wait and hope for.
·
That promise is exactly what Jesus said to John the Baptizer’s
disciples to assure them that he was the one who is to come - Go
and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor
have good news brought to them. These signs of the coming of the
Kingdom of Heaven are with us still and they are still the business of the
church – to proclaim the Kingdom, to bring good news to those who need it, and
to raise to life through the proclamation of God’s grace all those whose lives
are broken, shackled, or shadowed, and that could be us.
·
For lack of a better way of saying it, in Advent, we look back to
look ahead. As we prepare to celebrate what has happened, we prepare to be
faithful to what is yet to be, although it started long ago.
·
The words of the prophets, the words of
the Gospels, and the words to the churches continually propel us forward to
what God still has in store for us. There is no need to wait for another. We
just need to be faithful as disciple of the one who has already come and whose
return we await.
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word
by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are
we to wait for another?"
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