The Gospel isn’t meant to be gulped down on Sunday morning, but gnawed on through the week so it really becomes a part of us. You’ve got to work at it, like a dog with a good bone! Here’s the Gospel for this coming Sunday — the Third Sunday of Advent — with food for thought about what it means to walk with Jesus. Gnaw away!
The Third Sunday of Advent – Matthew 11:2-11
When John was in prison, he heard about the works the Messiah was performing, and sent a message by way of his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you ‘The One who is to come’ or do we look for another?”
In reply, Jesus said to them, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:
‘Those who are blind recover their sight;
those who cannot walk are able to walk;
those who are deaf hear;
the dead are raised to life;
and the anawim – the “have-nots” –
have the Good News preached to them.’
“Blessed is the one who finds no stumbling block in me.”
As the messengers set off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out to the wasteland to see – a reed swaying in the wind? Tell me, what did you go out to see – someone luxuriously dressed? No, those who dress luxuriously are to be found in royal palaces. So what did you go out to see – a prophet? Yes, a prophet – and more than a prophet! It is about John that scripture says,
‘I send my messenger ahead of you to prepare your way before you.’
“The truth is, history has not known a person born of a woman who is greater than John the Baptizer. Yet the least born into the kindom of heaven is greater than he.”
The Backstory – What’s Going On Here?
Even though we’re still hearing about John the Baptizer, we’ve skipped forward to the 11th chapter of Matthew. In those intervening chapters, the Jesus whom John had predicted would separate the wheat from the chaff and bring down a baptism of fire from heaven has been far less fiery and revolutionary. He has preached and taught, including the Sermon on the Mount. He has healed people and calmed storms. Instead of condemning those John excoriated, he has debated with the Pharisees and dined with a tax collector. He has sent his disciples out not to rain fire on the people, but to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.” (10:8). This is not the Messiah that John was shouting about! John is wondering if someone pulled a bait-and-switch. So he sends his disciples out from his prison cell to find out if he got it wrong … is Jesus really the “One who is to come”, because he isn’t doing what John considers Messiah-like things!
In Jesus’ response, he lets John know that he is indeed “the One”… but that John (and everyone else) needs to shift their concept of what a Messiah does. A Messiah doesn’t rain fire from heaven. A Messiah brings in the kindom of God … and the kindom of God is where all sorts and conditions of brokenness are made whole. And that as great as John the Baptist is … and as much as he stands in the honored tradition of the prophets … even the least in this new kindom that Jesus is about is greater than he.
A few things to chew on:
*John the Baptist believed enough in God’s future for Israel that he gave his life for it. And he put all those hopes on one person – Jesus. How hard it must have been for him when this person who embodied all his hopes began to act in ways so completely different from the way HE had hoped! What image of Jesus have you been raised with? Who do you expect Jesus to be? How bound are we by those expectations? How open are we for Jesus to tell us, he is something radically different than we expect … and “blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
*20 years ago (has it really been that long?) Kevin Smith’s movie, Dogma (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120655/), casts George Carlin as Cardinal Glick, who tries to make the Church more attractive by substituting the cruficix – “a wholly depressing of our Lord” for a new image of Jesus … the “Buddy Christ.” (click here for the great 90-second clip of the unveiling! – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FigprdcBGA) It’s great satire of the Church because it spoofs how we try to make Jesus palatable and smooth out his considerable rough edges! Jesus isn’t our buddy. He’s a revolutionary. He’s our savior. And he saves us from a life of meaningless comfort by destroying death and leading us into a fearless life of giving ourselves away in love. To follow Jesus isn’t to have a beer with a buddy, it’s to be a part of “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.” That’s going to offend a lot of people … which is why he says, “And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
Try This:
In his sermon last Sunday, Alfredo invited us to try three small things each day: Gratitude, Prayer and an Act of Kindness. Let me add a fourth:
Each morning this week, read the baptismal covenant (https://episcopalchurch.org/baptismal-covenant – also on page 304-5 in the BCP) and reaffirm it. Then pick one small thing (emphasis on small) to do that day for no other reason than as a visible sign that you are following Christ. At the end of the day, as you lie down to sleep, think back on whether you did it. And judge your day a success or not based on your answer.
Are you walking with Jesus … or should they look for another?
Jesus doesn’t answer John’s question, “Are you the one?” with a yes or a no. Instead, he tells their disciples to “go back and report to John what you hear and see.”
The proof of a savior is not in the words of the savior, but in the fruits of the savior.
In our baptism, we vow to follow Christ as our savior, to put our whole trust in his grace and love. Think about that – put your WHOLE TRUST – in Christ!
And after we pledge to do that; after we put our whole lives in Jesus’ hands … he tells us what to do with our lives. And that’s the baptismal covenant. And parts of it look a lot like the list that Jesus gives John:
*Continue in the apostles teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers.
*Persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent (remember what Alfredo said about this yesterday … repent is about changing direction, not about guilt and shame) and return to the Lord.
*Proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.
*Seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.
*Strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.
That’s what it means to walk with Jesus.
If someone asks “are you a Christian,” our answer shouldn’t be “yes” or “no” but “Look at me. What do you hear and see?”
Do you read the Bible, pray and worship with your community regularly?
Are you intentional about how you live your life – and continually ask God to shape your actions, owning your mistakes and repairing the damage when you can?
Do you talk about God and Jesus … sharing your faith with others?
In the individual relationships – from your family and friends to the people you meet on the street or anywhere – do you try your best to give yourself away in love?
Do you use your power (and we all have power) to change systems that oppress and denigrate people? Do you help call others to a life of dignity?
What in our life together as an All Saints community says yes? What says no?
When people look at you, when people look at us as an All Saints community … do they know that we are Christians … or will they look for another?
Check out the “Try this” above as a good way to integrate the baptismal covenant into your life.
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Collect for Sunday
Pray this throughout the week as you gnaw on this Gospel.
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
