Friday, December 20, 2024
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?”
Matthew 11:2-3
The haunting question from John the Baptist immediately calls to mind Search Committees everywhere who are interviewing candidates for an open clergy position.
“Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
While John’s question may not immediately be on the lips of the members of those committees, it will certainly cross their minds a time or two, as they engage in conversation with those candidates.
“Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
It’s a question brimming with expectation, not only by the Search Committee members, but with all members of a congregation as they anticipate that day when the search ends and the new clergy person steps into their pulpit.
It’s safe to say that Jesus was far from John’s vision of how the Messiah would come, how he would behave, what the Messiah would do when he arrived on the scene.
The Messiah was supposed to come out all fire and brimstone, but he seemed to come out more for peace, love, and reconciliation.
It was all a big disappointment for John.
And it raises another possible doubt within us. Might we, like John, not only be asking the question of a new priest, but also asking the same question of Jesus?
There are many of us whose expectations are still unfulfilled.
We go through this same routine year after year.
But after all this time of waiting for things to get better – they just aren’t.
All of us, at one time or another, have been disappointed by a Messiah who didn’t live up to our expectations.
Perhaps, then, we might ask ourselves, do we detect God only when God is surrounded by stained-glass windows and organ music, or can we see God outside of the church and in our everyday lives?
As we smile at the cute, cuddly little baby in a manger this Christmas, let us not forget that he grows into a demanding and challenging adult whom we can’t ignore if we’re serious about our relationship with God.
We are residents of God’s kingdom, living in a world where God has come to us in human form.
As a result, we are charged with the holy responsibility of continuing to spread the good news, to come alongside the weak ones and hurting ones and to point them to a better day, to share in the mission of Jesus to do that saving, healing work of God.
Let us pray.
God of hope, you call us home from the exile of selfish oppression to the freedom of justice, the balm of healing, and the joy of sharing. Make us strong to join you in your holy work, as friends of strangers and victims, companions of those whom others shun, and as the happiness of those whose hearts are broken. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, [Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002], p. 32.)
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Artwork: Giovanni di Paolo, “St. John the Baptist in Prison Visited by Two Disciples,” ca. 1455-1460 (photo: Public Domain)