Advent 3, Year A (December 11, 2022) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
3 Advent, Year A (2022)
Isaiah 35:1-10
Matthew 11:2-11
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.
“Are you the one who is to come,
or are we to wait for another?”
That is a haunting question for John the Baptist to be asking!
“Jesus,” he questions
“Are you the one who is to come,
or are we to wait for another?”
You would never expect this question from John;
after all, he has spent his entire life preparing the way for the Messiah.
He does not care about what others think of him or his message:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Mt 3:2)
“You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” (Mt 3:7-8)
John the Baptist talked the talk
and walked the walk.
He was an ascetic.
He lived a stark life in the wilderness eating whatever he could find,
wearing whatever nature would supply.
He was all-in and fully committed to pointing the way to the Messiah,
whom he believed to be Jesus.
His whole life had been about preparing the way,
making the paths straight.
The Messiah is coming!
Repent!
If you recall…
when Jesus came to John to be baptized in the river Jordan,
it was John who recognized Jesus saying,
“I need to be baptized by you,
and do you come to me?”
And it was while John was standing there knee-deep in the river that the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus and the voice from heaven spoke:
“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:17)
And yet today we hear from John’s lips his questioning of Jesus,
“Are you the one who is to come,
or are we to wait for another?”
How could John be saying this?
Until now, he seemed convinced that Jesus is the One.
So, let’s think about it:
John is sitting in a prison cell,
having been arrested by Herod,
who did not take too kindly to John meddling in his personal affairs.
Who was John to tell Herod that he could not marry his brother’s wife?
But, John was just preaching proper Jewish teaching…
trying to prepare people’s lives and hearts for the coming of the Messiah.
John was preaching that the Messiah would come baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The Messiah would come with a winnowing fork in his hand,
separating out the wheat from the chaff,
burning the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Certainly Jesus would consider Herod to be among the chaff
since he was not following the law!
So, we can imagine that John might be wondering
why Jesus did not come and smite Herod and set John free from prison?
Instead of separating the good from the bad as John had expected,
Jesus was cavorting with the very sinners John had made sure to correct.
Jesus was dispensing mercy,
not judgment.
Could this Jesus really be the long-awaited Messiah,
or had John hedged his bets – even his very life - on the wrong man?
To answer his question, Jesus sends word back to John:
“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.
And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” (Mt 11:4-6)
In other words, Jesus says, look at my actions:
a new day has dawned!
A new world order has arrived!
There is a new timetable in which to live.
Healing is happening,
even if it doesn’t look quite like what you expected!
Jesus seems to be saying that the period of history from Abraham through John the Baptist is now over…
that was a time of waiting –
and preparation for a new reality…
the new reality which Jesus has inaugurated
where the deaf hear,
the blind see,
the diseased are healed,
and the poor have hope.
“Are you the one who is to come,
or are we to wait for another?”
It’s really not such a ridiculous question.
It has been 2,000 years since Jesus inaugurated this new Kingdom…
yet war, disease, flood, and famine still ravage our world…
thousands of children die daily of preventable diseases,
one in five children in Haywood County goes hungry every day….
So, Jesus, where is this new world order?
Advent is a season in which we celebrate the “already” and the “not yet.”
God has come and dwelt among us –
lived, suffered, and died as one of us.
And we are to live into the reality of God’s Kingdom,
making real – tangible - God’s healing presence in the world around us.
John was right…
Jesus has indeed come to clean house –
to make a clean sweep of our lives.
But the manner in which he does this is to ignite a fire within us –
to transform our lives from the inside out.
That transformation comes not in the form of vengeance,
but in the form of mercy.
And Jesus says, “Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
Blessed is anyone who lives a life of mercy and forgiveness.
Blessed is anyone who does not require the upper-hand, the position of power…
Blessed is the one who is able to see God’s hand at work in the world…
Blessed is the one who is able to be God’s hand at work in the world…
sharing food with the hungry,
providing clothing for the thread-bare,
visiting the prisoner,
advocating justice for the poor,
walking alongside those who are ill,
being present with those who are lonely….
During Advent we look and listen for the already
and wait with patience and hope for the not yet.
Sometimes we get focused on what we think God “should” be doing,
and we miss what God is actually doing!
During Advent we give thanks that we are able to share in the Feast prepared for us -
a feast in which we are able to experience God’s transforming Grace in our lives,
a feast to which all are invited.
Jesus, are you the one who is to come?
Absolutely!
The one who was, and is, and is to come.
The one who comes clothed in the presence of a stranger…
The one who comes as unquenchable fire…
The one who lives in you and me,
exhorting us to love one another
in humility and Grace.
Amen.
