The Passage<\/p>\n
When John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, \u201cAre you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?\u201d\u00a0 And Jesus answered them, \u201cGo and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.\u00a0 And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: \u201cWhat did you go out into the wilderness to behold?\u00a0 A reed shaken by the wind?\u00a0 Why then did you go out?\u00a0 To see a man clothed in soft raiment?\u00a0 Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings\u2019 houses.\u00a0 Why then did you go out?\u00a0 To see a prophet?\u00a0 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \n This is he of whom it is written, \u2018Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.\u2019\u00a0 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one has greater than John the Baptist; yet he is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0[Revised Standard Version]<\/p>\n \n \u201cBe patient until the coming of the Lord\u2026Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.\u201c<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0[James 5.7, 8]<\/p>\n \n \u00a0 In the Name of Christ + Jesus Our Lord<\/p>\n <\/p>\n People put up with a great deal, don\u2019t they, trying to get through these December weeks, \u00a0trusting that they will make their way through them? \u00a0They are trying to decide what purchases to make.\u00a0 They are trying to squeeze notes into Christmas cards.\u00a0 They are trying to make conversation with people they barely know at Christmas parties.\u00a0 They are putting up with surly attitudes from store employees.\u00a0 They are trying to make their way through all the additional traffic.\u00a0 They are deciding on the invitations to extend during the Twelve Days after Jesus\u2019 Birth.<\/p>\n Yes, people do put up with a lot, waiting for these weeks to be over, and, if there is time, wondering if all the efforts during December are worth it.\u00a0 Surprisingly, however, every year we come to the conclusion that all this effort is worth it!\u00a0 Such wondering points us to a man today who is in a situation that probably is more stressful than the ones we experience.<\/p>\n On a much deeper level, John the Baptizer is wondering if his ministry of preparation for the Anointed One has been worth it.\u00a0 He had been baptizing with water for repentance and the forgiveness of sins, but now he is in prison.\u00a0 He had been preaching about the One who would follow him, but now he is in prison.\u00a0 He had been hitting the religious authorities with a withering scorn for assuming they knew everything about the LORD God, but now he is in prison.\u00a0 He had been critiquing the political leaders for their immoral life-styles, but now he is in prison.\u00a0 So now, shut up in prison and probably sensing he may not get out, the people who had been surrounding John during his ministry of preparation are beginning to relate the stories about Jesus, the stories causing John to wonder.\u00a0 He tells his disciples to go to Jesus and ask him this question \u2013 Are you the One who is to come or do we wait for someone else?<\/p>\n Jesus encourages John\u2019s disciples to go back and tell John what they see and hear. \u00a0Blind people are seeing and lame individuals are walking!\u00a0 Lepers are being cleansed of their disease and deaf persons are hearing again!\u00a0 Those who have died are being raised to life and Good News is being proclaimed to the poor (the poor are those individuals who recognize their total dependence on the LORD God)! \u00a0Jesus further notes the deep happiness of those people who do not lose their faith in him!<\/p>\n John\u2019s question is still a good one for the Lord\u2019s people today \u2013 Are you the One who is to come or are we to wait for someone else?\u00a0 We not only put up with a lot in these December weeks, we also get swept up into them.\u00a0 We get threatened with colds and viruses.\u00a0 We get pierced with headaches.\u00a0 We get overwhelmed with sadness.\u00a0 We get ground down by exhaustion.\u00a0 Like the Baptizer, we wonder \u2013 Is Jesus really the One or are we trying to make our way through these weeks on our own?<\/p>\n This morning the LORD God pushes into our lives and invites us to take a penetrating look at today\u2019s Gospel. \u00a0Because of the Lord\u2019s rescuing and sustaining actions, people are<\/p>\n seeing life in a new way; they are no longer blind to his Life.\u00a0 People are not hemmed in by their selfish concerns; they are no longer lame.\u00a0 People are having their guilt from sin removed; they are no longer lepers.\u00a0 People are hearing what the Lord has to say; they are no longer hard of hearing.\u00a0 People are not destroying themselves any more; they are no longer marked for death.<\/p>\n Because of the LORD God, people, whose lives have been harassed, squeezed and nearly destroyed, are now having the Good News proclaimed to them!\u00a0 Jesus also spells out the \u00a0deep happiness of those people who do not lose their nerve in him.\u00a0 It is true that we put up with a great deal in these December weeks, that we get too caught up in them.\u00a0 But, we no longer have to keep trying to rescue ourselves from the life around and within us, the life given us by the world \u2013 Jesus is, in reality, our Rescuer!<\/p>\n There are times when this season distracts us so much that we wonder if it is worth it to keep pointing to the LORD God as the world\u2019s Rescuer.\u00a0 The LORD God, however, does not leave us alone as we struggle to keep up such pointing on our own.\u00a0 Surrounding us with the four places of his Scriptures and Sacraments, the LORD God picks us up, keeping us imbedded in him.\u00a0 He did it for John the Baptizer; he does it for us,<\/p>\n Jesus then asks three questions, for John\u2019s time as well as for ours.\u00a0 \u00a0Back then, he asked the crowds \u2013 What did you go out into the wilderness to see?\u00a0 A reed swaying in the breeze?\u00a0 Today, Jesus asks \u2013 What do people expect of you?\u00a0 That you and the parish to which you belong keep trying to ride the waves of the latest trends pulsing through this culture so its ministry can reflect a supposed success?\u00a0 The answer to both these questions is a thunderous No!<\/p>\n Back then, Jesus humorously asked the crowds \u2013 Did you go out to see a man wearing fine clothes?\u00a0 This man is doing his work in the wilderness!\u00a0 That\u2019s why he was dressed so roughly!\u00a0 Today, Jesus asks \u2013 Do we drive ourselves only to live well?\u00a0 Again, the answer to both questions is a thunderous No!<\/p>\n Jesus asks the crowds for the last time \u2013 Did you go out to see a prophet?\u00a0 Remember that the biblical definition for a prophet is one who speaks for the LORD God.\u00a0 Today, Jesus asks \u2013 Do we look for the people who are speaking for him and his Father and his Spirit?<\/p>\n The answer to both of these questions is a thundering Yes!\u00a0 Jesus then praises John highly, a praise that applies to our lives as well when we are baptized into the Holy Trinity.<\/p>\n Yes, deeply happy are the people who do not lose their nerve in the LORD God!\u00a0 We are a people who not only put up with a great deal in these December weeks, we also get too swept up in them.\u00a0 We are a people who wonder if Jesus is really the One or if we are to keep trying to rescue ourselves from the world\u2019s life.\u00a0 Fortunately, we are a people who have the LORD God who is pushing into our lives this morning and who is letting us know that he, indeed, is the One who is to come.<\/p>\n For people who are ground down by exhaustion, whose attention is grabbed by the political differences that surface nearly every day, who see life differently from the world, this reality is very Good News indeed!\u00a0 For people who are overwhelmed with sadness, whose attention is grabbed by the suffering in Ukraine \/ Iran, who are forgiven by their Rescuer and who forgive, this reality is very Good News indeed!\u00a0 For people who are pierced by headaches, whose attention is grabbed by entertainers and sports figures wallowing in large sums of money, who are touched by deep joy and rich meaning of their Lord\u2019s Life, this reality is very Good News indeed!<\/p>\n We can wonder like John the Baptizer was wondering \u2013 Is Jesus the One to come?\u00a0 Is it worth pushing through these four weeks of Advent with the world hollering at and pressing us to carry out its routines?\u00a0 The answers to these questions are a resounding Yes!\u00a0 No longer do we or the world\u2019s people have to keep trying to rescue ourselves from the pressures of this world\u2019s life, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is honestly the One to come!\u00a0 The holy places of his Scriptures and Sacraments make it possible for his people to slice through these pressures, emerging in the joy and wonder of the Son\u2019s Incarnation on 25 December!<\/p>\n Now may the peace of the LORD God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus Our Lord<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Advent Three (Revised Common Lectionary) |\u00a012.11.22 |\u00a0Matthew 11.2-11 | Carl A. Voges | The Passage When John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, \u201cAre you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?\u201d\u00a0 And Jesus answered them, \u201cGo and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,157,853,173,108,110,408,3,109],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-15265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-matthaeus","category-beitragende","category-bibel","category-carl-a-voges","category-current","category-engl","category-kapitel-11-chapter-11-matthaeus","category-nt","category-predigten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15265"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15267,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15265\/revisions\/15267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15265"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=15265"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=15265"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=15265"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=15265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}