“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?” (Mt 11:2-3)
Some years ago, the famous Trappist monk and writer on the spiritual life, Thomas Merton, wrote about Advent and about this Gospel text, in particular.* Rightly, he noted, that John the Baptist and his disciples serve as stand-ins for those of us who look around at this time of year and wonder, “Jesus, are you really the one?” Are you really God’s Messiah? The one sent to bring justice and peace on the earth? The one sent to help for the poor? Find food for the hungry? Bring comfort to those who mourn? Healing for the sick and dying?
That John is a stand-in for faith in hard times does not mean that he did not send his disciples to ask Jesus if he was “the one to come”. I am sure that he did.
But – as with other stories in the Gospels – I think that this was among the events that were told and re-told because they not only recorded events that transpired but because they also spoke to the readers of the Gospels, long after the events themselves.
I don’t know about you, but there have been a number of years when, with the approach of Christmas, I have needed to hear John ask that question. And this has been one of those years.
We lost my wife’s mother just over a week ago. At church we have had a spate of pastoral care needs. Without getting into a lot of personal details, there have been enough needs that I have caught myself thinking, “Right, everyone, heal, get out of the hospital, go home, be safe.” And the news of the last week has been peppered with mass shootings, tragic murders, and still other terrorist plots that were barely adverted.
So, when Matthew sets the stage for John’s question with the words that he “heard in prison what the Messiah was doing”, I think to myself, “Yeah, that’s the way a lot of Advents go. Heard in prison, heard while grieving, heard while in the hospital, heard while recovering from a trauma, heard while overwhelmed…the list goes on and on.”
So, part of the power of the story about John’s question is the way in which it does not shrink from admitting that the news of the coming Christ, the long-expected Messiah, takes place in a conflicted, difficult world. Conflict and difficulty in John’s life, who has been imprisoned by Herod Antipas and will eventually be executed. Conflict and difficulty in the life of the embattled nation of Israel, which was without power and lived under the control of its Roman overlords. Conflict and difficulty In a religious environment where there are competing notions of what kind of Messiah will come. And conflict and difficulty In a region where there were those who could barely hope to survive another day.
This is worth remembering, because the specifics of our world may vary, but there is no substantive difference between our world and John’s. Oh, we have electricity and all the benefits of what are euphemistically called “modern conveniences” – or more accurately, some of us do. But at a deeper level, we are no different. Our frailty, our struggles, and our varied notions of what counts as a Savior – the things that are most basic to our humanity remain the same.
So, as Christians, let’s be careful not to let the cultural ethos of Christmas distract us from the spiritual wisdom of that first Advent. If you are struggling, don’t assume – as some do – that there must be something wrong you, if your life doesn’t keep pace with a Hallmark greeting card. And there is nothing wrong with celebration, but let’s avoid an empty celebration that takes delight in our own well being, only to close your eyes and ears to pain and to need.
The truth is that like John and the first disciples, we are called by Christ in a broken world, and that calling means that our faith will not take us above the fray, but into it. And we should be fearlessly honest about the places where sin and death make in-roads into our world, leaving people without a sense of connection, belonging, and purpose.
But, let’s remember, as well, that honesty is not enough. This Advent season also challenges us to walk alongside Christ as his hands, his feet, as a living manifestation of his heart.
One of the most striking features of this Gospel story is what John does not say. John’s disciples don’t go to Jesus and ask, “John wants to know when you are going to get him out of prison.” He wants to know if Jesus is the one.
To be pointed about it, the work that God is doing in the world through his Son isn’t all about us. The Good News of God in Jesus Christ embraces us, but it is also bigger than us.
As Jesus made clear in his teaching, he has begun the conquest of death and its power in ways both large and small, and his victory is certain. But we – like John and his disciples – find ourselves alongside Jesus in a battle that is underway, not over.
So, while it is natural to be concerned about ourselves and those we love, it is also important to remember that the coming of Christ is about the reclamation of all humankind, of heaven and of earth. And that reclamation is accomplished by passing through death, without death having the final word.
The church, then, is not a privileged place of immunity to the fallen nature of the world, nor is it a place where we wait passively for God to “wrap it up.” It is not a social organization or a social action organization. It is not the United Nations-lite, or anyone’s political party at prayer.
It is an army tasked with pointing the world to its true Lord and to life in his Kingdom. It is an army which – like its Lord – remains vulnerable to the needs of others. Read to give. Open to sacrifice. And our battle cry is “Go and tell…what you hear and see: 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 [him].”
*Thanks to Daniel Horan for reminding us of Merton’s observation: https://uscatholic.org/articles/202512/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-advent-5/
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