Matthew 11.2-11

Advent Three (Revised Common Lectionary) | 12.11.22 | Matthew 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, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?”  And Jesus answered them, “Go 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.  And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.”

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold?  A reed shaken by the wind?  Why then did you go out?  To see a man clothed in soft raiment?  Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings’ houses.  Why then did you go out?  To see a prophet?  Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 

This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.’  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.”                                                                  [Revised Standard Version]

“Be patient until the coming of the Lord…Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.“                                                                                                 [James 5.7, 8]

  In the Name of Christ + Jesus Our Lord

People put up with a great deal, don’t they, trying to get through these December weeks,  trusting that they will make their way through them?  They are trying to decide what purchases to make.  They are trying to squeeze notes into Christmas cards.  They are trying to make conversation with people they barely know at Christmas parties.  They are putting up with surly attitudes from store employees.  They are trying to make their way through all the additional traffic.  They are deciding on the invitations to extend during the Twelve Days after Jesus’ Birth.

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.  Surprisingly, however, every year we come to the conclusion that all this effort is worth it!  Such wondering points us to a man today who is in a situation that probably is more stressful than the ones we experience.

On a much deeper level, John the Baptizer is wondering if his ministry of preparation for the Anointed One has been worth it.  He had been baptizing with water for repentance and the forgiveness of sins, but now he is in prison.  He had been preaching about the One who would follow him, but now he is in prison.  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.  He had been critiquing the political leaders for their immoral life-styles, but now he is in prison.  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.  He tells his disciples to go to Jesus and ask him this question – Are you the One who is to come or do we wait for someone else?

Jesus encourages John’s disciples to go back and tell John what they see and hear.  Blind people are seeing and lame individuals are walking!  Lepers are being cleansed of their disease and deaf persons are hearing again!  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)!  Jesus further notes the deep happiness of those people who do not lose their faith in him!

John’s question is still a good one for the Lord’s people today – Are you the One who is to come or are we to wait for someone else?  We not only put up with a lot in these December weeks, we also get swept up into them.  We get threatened with colds and viruses.  We get pierced with headaches.  We get overwhelmed with sadness.  We get ground down by exhaustion.  Like the Baptizer, we wonder – Is Jesus really the One or are we trying to make our way through these weeks on our own?

This morning the LORD God pushes into our lives and invites us to take a penetrating look at today’s Gospel.  Because of the Lord’s rescuing and sustaining actions, people are

seeing life in a new way; they are no longer blind to his Life.  People are not hemmed in by their selfish concerns; they are no longer lame.  People are having their guilt from sin removed; they are no longer lepers.  People are hearing what the Lord has to say; they are no longer hard of hearing.  People are not destroying themselves any more; they are no longer marked for death.

Because of the LORD God, people, whose lives have been harassed, squeezed and nearly destroyed, are now having the Good News proclaimed to them!  Jesus also spells out the  deep happiness of those people who do not lose their nerve in him.  It is true that we put up with a great deal in these December weeks, that we get too caught up in them.  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 – Jesus is, in reality, our Rescuer!

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’s Rescuer.  The LORD God, however, does not leave us alone as we struggle to keep up such pointing on our own.  Surrounding us with the four places of his Scriptures and Sacraments, the LORD God picks us up, keeping us imbedded in him.  He did it for John the Baptizer; he does it for us,

Jesus then asks three questions, for John’s time as well as for ours.   Back then, he asked the crowds – What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  A reed swaying in the breeze?  Today, Jesus asks – What do people expect of you?  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?  The answer to both these questions is a thunderous No!

Back then, Jesus humorously asked the crowds – Did you go out to see a man wearing fine clothes?  This man is doing his work in the wilderness!  That’s why he was dressed so roughly!  Today, Jesus asks – Do we drive ourselves only to live well?  Again, the answer to both questions is a thunderous No!

Jesus asks the crowds for the last time – Did you go out to see a prophet?  Remember that the biblical definition for a prophet is one who speaks for the LORD God.  Today, Jesus asks – Do we look for the people who are speaking for him and his Father and his Spirit?

The answer to both of these questions is a thundering Yes!  Jesus then praises John highly, a praise that applies to our lives as well when we are baptized into the Holy Trinity.

Yes, deeply happy are the people who do not lose their nerve in the LORD God!  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.  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’s life.  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.

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!  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!  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’s Life, this reality is very Good News indeed!

We can wonder like John the Baptizer was wondering – Is Jesus the One to come?  Is it worth pushing through these four weeks of Advent with the world hollering at and pressing us to carry out its routines?  The answers to these questions are a resounding Yes!  No longer do we or the world’s people have to keep trying to rescue ourselves from the pressures of this world’s life, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is honestly the One to come!  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’s Incarnation on 25 December!

Now may the peace of the LORD God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our

   hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus Our Lord