Year A, 3 Advent
Have you ever felt like that man? I know I have, and at one time that poem really spoke to me. God doesn’t always meet our expectations, does he? We want a sign, we want a touch, we want to know, to feel. And God packages his love for us in different ways than we want, different ways than we expect. In the New Testament, John the Baptist is one of several people who question God, question Jesus. Lord, are you there? Are you the one? Jesus’ ministry is not what John expected. Think about it. Last week we heard of John baptizing in the Jordan, proclaiming with confidence “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near!!” He announces that One is coming who is greater, who is worthy, who is The One! The one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with Fire. The one who will judge the world, separating the wheat from the chaff, and burning the chaff. John was so confident in his message he confronted the Jewish leadership, calling them a brood of vipers! He was the first prophet in Israel in 400 years, and he boldly proclaimed God’s message to the people. Repent! And John was confident enough in his message to challenge the ruler Herod, to confront him about his sinful marriage to his brother’s wife. And for this Herod put him in prison. Herod was more than a little bit afraid of this prophet, but kept John around for his amusement. And John sat in his cell, thinking. Thinking about what he had said, what he had done. Questioning, wondering. He had been the voice in the wilderness, preparing for the Messiah. He had baptized Jesus, seen the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus like a dove. He had heard the voice from heaven, saying “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.” He had been confident that Jesus was the Messiah . . . but. . . things weren’t turning out like he expected. John and his disciples fasted and prayed and kept themselves apart. Jesus and his disciples feasted and hung out with sinners. Sure, Jesus healed people and exorcised demons, but where was the judgment. When would Jesus overthrow the Romans and begin his reign? What’s going on with this program? John, sitting in his cell, accused and condemned for being God’s messenger, had a lot of time to think, to question. So he sent his disciples to Jesus, to find out if he is the One, or if they should expect someone else. These must have been very faithful disciples, men who also wanted to know. They traveled about 100 miles on foot to find Jesus and his disciples and ask the question. Are you the One? Jesus replies by telling John’s disciples to look around and see that his ministry is consistent with prophecy. Jesus’ ministry does fulfill Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the messiah: that the blind will receive their sight, the lame will walk, lepers will be cured, the dead will be raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. He is the Messiah; the blessings of the kingdom have arrived with his ministry. Jesus admonishes John and his disciples, saying “Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” This blessing “is a warning and a challenge. It is a warning to those who fail to understand correctly Jesus’ identity and ministry and so fall away from faith in his saving activity. It is a challenge to those with eyes of faith to stand firm in what God has revealed about Jesus in John’s own message and in Jesus’ ministry.” 1 John and his disciples need to look at the big picture, the whole of OT prophecy, understanding that God’s ways are not our ways. God is in charge, and the timing of blessing and of judgment is in God’s hands. As far as Jesus’ ministry, you are either for him or against him, you either believe, or reject him, and those who reject him will face judgment. Jesus turns to this crowds, and in spite of John’s doubts, Jesus praises John. John was more than a prophet, and he had great influence with the people of Israel. Jesus asks the crowds to remember John’s ministry in the desert. Was John a reed swayed by the wind, weak and vacillating with every changing season? Of course not. John is in prison for his strength and his willingness to confront sin and speak truth. Was John a man dressed in fine clothes. No, the prophet wore camel hair and leather, in keeping with his prophetic call. The crowds had gone to the desert to see the prophet, the first one in hundreds of years, God’s spokesman calling the nation to repentance, declaring God’s salvation. And John was more than a prophet, he was the forerunner, the herald announcing the Messiah and the kingdom. Jesus quotes from the prophet Malachi and this verse refers to preparing God’s way—Jesus here implies his own divinity, equating himself with God. Jesus then speaks of the importance of John’s ministry. “Among those born of women no one is greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Jesus is comparing those born in the normal human way—like John was--with those who are born into the kingdom of heaven, those who are born again. “The arrival of the kingdom of heaven ushers in an incomparably greater era than any preceding it” 2 By his coming death and resurrection, Jesus will institute a new covenant, a new age. John is the greatest of those in the Old Testament era because he announced the Messiah, but those living in the New Testament era of the kingdom of heaven are greater because of the privilege of coming after Jesus and entering the kingdom. Do we understand the privilege we have of living on this side of the resurrection? We are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. We are full members of Christ’s life and resurrection. Do we know how great that is? We need to be careful not to take this for granted—that we are one with Christ, that we have a relationship with the Father, that we are filled with the Spirit. This is who we are, who we are meant to be. We should spend our lives growing into the people God has made us to be. We who are baptized in Christ are already one with Christ, and we spend our lives growing in that unity, with God’s help and work in us. John the Baptist wants to know if this man from Nazareth is the Savior they have been promised. Jesus responds “what do you hear and see”? In other words, what difference has Jesus made in the world? It’s a good question -one that we could ask ourselves. Do we follow Jesus because we want a piece of Heaven after our death or because following Jesus helps bring a little bit of Heaven to our lives and to this world right now? What difference has Jesus made in your life? How has loving more, forgiving more, standing against injustice more made a difference in you, and in our community.3 God doesn’t always meet our expectations, does he? Like John, we have disappointments and questions and doubts, and that’s okay. God is big enough to handle our questions. But if Jesus is The One, and I believe that he is, what difference does it make? What do you see and hear? Think about it as you prepare for his Coming this 3 rd week of Advent. Amen. 1 Moo, Douglas. The NIV Application Commentary: Romans. Grand Rapids: Zondervan (2000) 414. 2 Moo, Douglas 415. 3 Pastors of First Congregational, United Church of Christ, Santa Cruz, |