So there sat John the Baptist in prison, more than a
wee bit disillusioned I suspect. The
Empire struck back at him, one could say.
King Herod and his wife, Herodias, whom he stole away from his brother, often
rode past where John preached in the wilderness by the Jordan River. There were many mansions of the rich and
famous in the area. John liked to hold
the two to account for their adultery whenever they passed. So, Herodias, not liking this prophet of God
meddling in her morality, got Herod to arrest him. John was not under a death sentence, but
getting out wasn’t likely unless Cousin Jesus, if he was the Messiah, got on
with it.
I say if because I think that even to John Jesus was
a bit of an enigma. He didn’t live up to
the expectations of what the Messiah was supposed to be. Faithful Jews were expecting an overthrow of
their Roman occupiers and a clean up of their corrupted royals and temple
authorities. But Jesus didn’t fit that
bill. He just healed people, had some
great debates with the religious authorities, cast out demons, pronounced
forgiveness of sins...and he kept company with all the wrong people (whores,
revenuers, and fishermen). To the powers
that he was supposed to overturn, Jesus seemed more a source of entertainment
and a bit of a blasphemer than the One who was to bring in the Kingdom of God;
though the size of the crowds was concerning.
So, John went and did what many a pastor goes and
does about mid-career when ministry hasn’t gone the way you expected. He sent out a hotline to Jesus wondering what
was the hold up. You see, it’s a
difficult thing to come to grips with the troubling reality that God does what
God does…or doesn’t do, and it seldom is what we want and expect to
happen. John sent some of his own
disciples ask Jesus, “Are you the One, the Messiah who is coming, or should we
wait for another?” Jesus told them, “Go
and tell John what you hear and see.” And
just to make sure they got it right, Jesus gave them a list of things that he
was doing, things that the prophets of old and particularly Isaiah foretold that
the Messiah would do. Ah, blessed
assurance.
So…what did these disciples of John hear? In my imagination John’s disciples heard the
sound of people praising God with great joy, a sound so loud that it seemed to
be the voice of all creation resounding in joy at the arrival of its Saviour.
If you have ever heard Middle Eastern people when worship comes on them, you
know what I mean. It is emotional, loud,
and powerfully joyful. If you are the
type who hears the sound of colours, it was like the wanton wasteland of the
dry wilderness of becoming lush, breaking forth and blossoming like the dry
riverbeds in the Palestinian wilderness coming into blossom in Spring just
after the end-of-winter flooding…bright purples, pinks, yellows, whites (I’ve
seen that bloom and it’s beautiful.)
So, if that’s what John’s disciples heard, what did
they see? What could have caused all
that loud praising? Well, Jesus doing
what God himself said he would do when he himself came to deliver not only his
people but more so all of his creation from oppression by sin and death. Weak hands were strengthening. Unstable knees were steadying. Jesus was opening the eyes of the blind and
unstopping the ears of the deaf. He was making
the lame to leap like deer and loosing the tongues of the mute so they could
praise. He was cleansing lepers and even
raising the dead. Jesus was sending out
his own disciples ahead of him and they did these things also as if to make a
highway in the desert so that God’s people could come to him. Joy was overtaking those people. Sorrow and sighing was fleeing. John’s disciples were seeing and hearing
Isaiah 35 manifesting all around Jesus everywhere he went. What better news could there be for the poor
in the land than these signs of “Immanuel” – God is with us!?
Jesus told John’s disciples to go report what they
hear and see and also sent them back with a little kick in the pants for
John. Tell John, “blessed is anyone who
takes no offense at me.” If I had to
paraphrase that, it would be, “John, I am who I am and I will do as I do. I may not be doing what you think ‘God’ ought
to do. But I am ‘God with you’. Keep being faithful, John.”
I can relate to John.
Faith in Jesus can be quite disillusioning. We want a God who does what we think he out
to do, but God does or does not do what he wants to do in what seems like a
test of patience to us as he works all things to the good for those who love
him. It is especially difficult when
suffering is involved. As a minister,
I’ve walked with more people than I care to through terminal illness praying
all the way that God would heal and yet God didn’t. Instead, what God more often does is come
along side the person he’s calling home and gives peace. Instead of fear there is the peace of Christ.
When I think of the present circumstance of the world
today I get really spooked. The
environment of planet earth is at the tipping point. The population of species homo sapiens is
reaching the point of being unsustainable on this planet. I can only think of one global leader who is
a step above mediocrity, Angela Merkel.
The rest are mediocre at best and/or diabolically corrupt. The economy is great for the rich, but the
day will come likely in the next decade when economic disparity will catch up
with us and the Recession of 2008 will seem mild to what’s coming. I want Jesus to come be King Jesus right
now. I don’t want to live through a time
when billions of people starve to death and there are epidemics and wars. Then there’s the state of the Church. My outlook on life is profoundly affected by
the fact that my profession, professional clergy, is one of the fastest
declining in the world. I am not seeing
the Kingdom of God grow as I hoped it would through my work.
All things considered it would be quite easy to be
disillusioned with the whole God/Jesus thing.
If it were not for one thing, the blatant fact that God is with us. In patience and in prayer the presence of the
Lord is with us and there is a joy that comes with that. These Advent themes of Hope, Joy, Peace, Love
are all the effects of Jesus being with us and he has promised to be with us to
the end of the age when he finally comes.
To know ourselves to be the beloved children of God in Christ upon whom
he has rested his Spirit is something to be joyful about this day and
always. Where the presence of the Lord
is the lame leap, the blind see, the deaf hear, the mute speak, the dead are
raised. Whether literally or
spiritually, where Jesus is present healing happens; and there is the silent
sound of all creation joyfully worshipping. Amen.
