Facing "That Question"

 As I write this, we are moving into the Third Week of Advent. At least those of us who are not yet ready to toss the Christas Tree and silence the seasonal muzak - we are moving into the Third Week of Advent.

And this year as we do so, the Gospel that is proclaimed will set out a question. (To check out that Gospel, Matthew 11:2 - 11)

The question comes from John the Baptist who is, at the time, sitting in a prison cell due to his words of criticism surrounding the circumstances of King Herod's "marriage."

John has dedicated his life to what he believed was his calling and purpose from God. He proclaimed that the folks of his time needed to get ready. They needed to take seriously, very seriously, the messages of those ancient prophets. Prepare the Way of the Lord.

John stood on the shores of the River Jordan declaring that the time was short for that preparation. The Day of the Messiah was near at hand.

Then he ended up in that prison cell.

And his cousin, Jesus, from Nazareth, was emerging strongly on the scene and word was that in this Jesus could be found the fulfillment of those ancient prophetic words and those more recent declarations of John himself.

Jesus might well be the long awaited One, the Promised One, the Messiah.

But John was sitting there in that prison cell and wondering.

And so he dared to ask his question.

Confined to that cell, he could not ask it personally and so he sent his disciples, messengers. They would, in John's name and in their own, ask the question.

"Are you the one who is to come or shall we wait for another?"

I am thinking about that question in the present, right now, in this twenty-first century.

And I am hearing many, so very, very many asking that question today - of Jesus, as did John, but now also of us, every one of us who would call ourselves disciples, followers of this Jesus of Nazareth.

"Are you the one? Or shall we keep on waiting?"

In that Gospel when the question is set before Him, Jesus answers by pointing to His works, to the things He is doing. He points to the brokenness that He is healing, to the ignorant being enlightened by His teachings and His words, to the unwanted, the marginalized being welcomed and embraced, to those who in various ways seem dead and are, by Him, being overwhelmed by the wonder of life.

He points to His works as testimony to answering that question.

But today, twenty one centuries later we, His disciples, are the ones charged with giving the questioners the answer to that question. Make no mistake about it. They are asking. They are wondering. "Why should we believe in Him? Take Him seriously? Why?"

And the answer is not to be found in the beautiful buildings we have crafted. Not to be found in the majestic music we have composed. Not to be found the the smells and bells of some High Church Worship ritual.

The answer today must be the same and the one He gave so many years ago.

Look at our works.

Look at what we are doing.

Do you see us lifting up the downtrodden? Giving worth to the marginalized? bestowing health - physical, yes, but also mental, psychological, spiritual? Do you see the care we have for children? Their parents? Those at our country's borders? Those kids who have to engage in active shooter drills in their classrooms? The air that we breath? The water that we drink? Do you see how generously we are willing to share the rich resources with which we are blessed?

What do they see when they ask That Question and then look at us?

Can they catch a glimpse of Him?

Can they get a feeling for why they just might consider paying closer attention to Him?

"Are you He who is to come or should we wait for still another?"

Are we, His followers, giving solid reasons to celebrate Christmas? Or just encouraging a Happy Holiday time?

The question set before us this weekend brings to my mind an astute observation made by that great author and thinker, G.K. Chesterton. 

Chesterton observed: "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried."

What might happen if, somehow, this Christmas followers of Jesus Christ really committed to show by our actions that He truly is the long awaited One!