Wesley Chapel Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes
December 11, 2022
Year A/Advent III
Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11
Secular Christmas is here. In fact, it has been with us since before Halloween. It’s not surprising to witness children melting down in the store aisles in response to a parent’s stern, “No, you’re not getting that, put it back!” It’s also, not surprising to witness, the persistent child approach the parent with the same question, and perhaps puppy dog eyes and a drawn out “please.” Even though the child had received the answer to their desperate plea, they just want to be sure that “no” is the final answer. And, there’s this universal parental response, which often leaves the child silent, “Why are you asking me this question when you already know the answer?”
In this week’s Gospel, John, the Baptizer, had heard about the miraculous works of the Messiah, Jesus. John was in prison, yet these testimonies about Jesus found their way beyond the walls to an imprisoned man. While there was little doubt that Jesus was performing healings John had no way to witness them for himself or to hear the good news that Jesus was bringing to the poor. If Jesus was the Messiah who had come to oppose the Roman empire, the system under which John himself was imprisoned, John had no way of verifying it. After all, John had not been freed. One might understand why John was compelled to send forth his own disciples to go straight to the source, to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
Was John’s question one of sincere doubt about the identity of Jesus, or was he asking a question for which he already knew the answer? Perhaps he just needed a little bit more assurance of the hope that the Messiah had come and that he should wait patiently for him, even as he sat isolated in his prison cell.
This question may make us a bit uneasy when we consider the source of the question. Is John not the person, who boldly proclaimed to the people of Judea in the wilderness “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”?[1] Is this not the man who said with full assurance that there would be another, more powerful than he, who would baptize the people with the Holy Spirit and fire? Is this not the man who baptized Jesus saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”[2]
I suspect that this questioning of Jesus’ identity as the promised Messiah may make us feel uneasy because it hits too close to home for many of us. What more did John need to be convinced that there was no other person coming after Jesus for whom he should wait? If John still needed assurance that Jesus was the Messiah, even after having experienced him physically present before him, how much more assurance do we need when, for us, Jesus is physically absent?
We who have been baptized into the death of Christ with the promise of joining in a resurrection like his; who faithfully gather in community to worship God in Jesus’ name; we who are sent out into the world, by virtue of our Baptism, to proclaim the Good News of Christ Jesus; we breathe a collective sigh of relief when John sends his question to Jesus, asking what we dare not speak aloud, “Jesus, are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
We might even empathize with John’s seeming struggle with the identity of Jesus, the Messiah because, we like John, may wrestle with our belief that the eternal living Word of God, Jesus Christ, is always with us, even as he is physically absent. John’s reality was that he was sitting in a prison cell with Jesus, the Messiah, nowhere in sight.
Consider how we, too, are often held captive by our self-imposed prisons, or those prisons imposed upon us, manifested in many ways in this world. We might just be left feeling like our Savior is hidden from us.
When times are good proclaiming that Jesus is Lord and Savior requires merely our confidence in doing so. But when we suffer from isolation, fear, shame, grief, abandonment and rejection, proclaiming the Gospel requires that we do so from knowledge of our Savior from the depths of our soul, not from the corners of our mind. In our individual and collective human suffering we just might be compelled to cry out to Jesus from our myriad spiritual prisons, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Amen.
Jesus responded to John’s disciples by recalling the language of the prophet Isaiah (35:5-6), and said, “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…” (vv. 4-5).
Embedded in Jesus’ answer to John’s question was a call to mission. “Go and tell John what you hear and see…” (v.4) John’s disciples were to share their personal testimonies to re-evangelize John the Baptizer himself.
The Gospel is for all who do not yet know Christ, as well as those who already believe and, from time to time, need a little bit of reminding and assurance. Go and share your personal testimonies of Emmanuel, God with us.
Go and tell of Christ’s saving work to the churched, the un-churched and the de-churched. Wherever human beings are, go into those places, and tell them of the Gospel that sets free imprisoned souls and all who suffer from poverty of spirit.
Go, with the assurance that every time we gather together in this holy place to celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is really present with us, and in us. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, you are fully equipped to boldly take the Gospel from this holy place, out into the world.
In this in-between time, on this third Sunday of Advent, we wait, with expectant hope for the in-breaking of Christ, anew, into the world and in our hearts. We wait because we know that even in times of feeling helpless, the faithful are never hopeless.
We wait because in the presence of the indescribable “otherness” of Jesus, there can be no question about the finality of Christ; only a bold proclamation, “Yes, Jesus, you ARE the one who is to come, and we wait for no other.”
Amen.
[1] Matt 3:2, NRSV
[2] Matt 3:14
