Advent 3

Preparation

         Please begin by reading Matthew 11:2-11 in your Bible. If you do not have one at hand, we have provided that text for you at the end of this reflection.

Reflection--Are You the One?

As we look at this week's Advent lesson we could almost borrow a slogan from one of those supermarket tabloids:  “Inquiring minds want to know.” 

Certainly, John--the one we call John the Baptist--wanted to know.  He wanted answers from Jesus.  "Are you the One who is to come?"  That is, are you the Messiah, the one God has promised us for so long?  Are you the one that God has sent to us to make God's presence visible in the world?  The one who will begin to put things right?  The one John was looking for was the one the prophet Isaiah described in last week's reading; the One God would send to bring justice and peace.

The outlook for John himself was pretty bleak.  He had already acknowledged that his ministry was about to be overtaken by that of another:  “He must increase, but I must decrease," John said.  (John 3:30)  Moreover John had criticized an extremely powerful and ruthless man, King Herod Antipas, who had put him in prison.  (Luke 3:19-20)  Soon John would be beheaded.

John had come out of the desert as a prophet announcing the advent of the kingdom of God.  He knew that someone was coming who was far beyond himself.  He came to prepare the way of the Messiah; God’s anointed One.  He seemed to know when he baptized Jesus in the river Jordan that Jesus was that One.  John felt that it was he who needed to be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around.  He said to  Jesus "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”  (Matthew 3:14) 

But now that death is near John wants to know; really know.  “Has my life been genuine and worthwhile?  Have I been faithful in preparing the way?  Have I really lived to see God’s chosen one?”  He seeks a final confirmation:  “Are you the One?”

Jesus answers the prophet out of prophecy; drawing on themes from Isaiah.  One is a passage Jesus read in a synagogue at the very beginning of his ministry and said he fulfilled:  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”  (Luke 4:18-19)  Another is “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear!  Here is your God.  He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense.  He will come and save you.’  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.”  (Isaiah 35:3-6a)

Through prophetic images that John, the devout priest’s son, would not have failed to recognize, Jesus lets John know that he really is the One.  Things speak for themselves.  “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.  And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

What would our answer be if someone asked us John’s question this Advent season?  “Is Jesus the messiah, God’s anointed One, or should I wait for someone else?”  Jesus’ advice on how to answer is still the best.  “Go and tell them what you hear and see.” 

Of course we were not witnesses to Jesus’ first-century miracles, nor did we have the privilege of having him bring the good news to us in his earthy body.  But that does not mean that we have nothing to say if asked about who Jesus is.  We have our own miracles and we too have heard the good news.  We can tell others what we hear and see of Jesus.  In fact, there is no more powerful witness to faith than your own story and observations.  You can tell someone who is searching for answers how your life has been changed by your encounter with “the One.”  Perhaps your spirit has been healed.  Perhaps your old life left you empty inside and Jesus brought you to a new life of promise.  Perhaps your life grows richer each day as you walk with Jesus.  Your story is unique in all the world and it will touch someone the way that nothing else can.

revclay

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Matthew 11:2-11

    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?”

    Jesus answered them, “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.  And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” 

    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?  What then did you go out to see?  Someone dressed in soft robes?  Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.  What then did you go out to see?  A prophet?