Readings:
Sermon:
‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ asks John.
It’s a decent question for John to ask. Some people characterise ancient Judea around the time of Jesus’s ministry as being knee-deep with prophets and their claims, many seeking ‘Messiah’ status, and no doubt John had seen a few come and go before. So we hear about all sort of popular prophetic movements – the Zealots, and the Sicarii, and also about individuals before and at around the same time as Jesus, such as Simon of Perea, Athronges the Shepherd, Eleazar son of Dineus, the one known as ‘The Teacher of Righteousness’ at Qumran, and one who adaptably, if minimally, was just called ‘The Egyptian.’ So it was like a messiah supermarket out there – it sounds like you might have stood out from the crowd if you didn’t claim to be a messiah.
‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Asks John
It’s a very Advent-y question to ask; we wait through these weeks upto Christmas in hopeful expectation. Answering John, Jesus outlines his acts, and he reaffirms his ministry, pointing out a few of his credentials to his cousin John. And this is interesting – because this is what Jesus says a prophet actually does from his point of view. As we hear what he says, keep in mind what’s amazing about this – what’s amazing isn’t really the what, although that’s pretty good, but the where.
So he lists some healings; for the blind, the lame, the deaf, the lepers, the dead and the poor, all have been his constituency. These are the people amongst whom his distinctive ministry has take place. People of no influence; invisible people, people who the ruling classes might well regard was non-human; people without hope, without status, and without a voice. It’s a counterintuitive way of being prophetic, and a philosophy that might be found in the bargain section of the messiah supermarket; it doesn’t sound like a premium prophetic product for premium people.
But Jesus is a holy king, not an earthly one in soft robes in palaces, and in saying ‘blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me’ Jesus is emphasising that people shouldn’t give up on him because he doesn’t meet their expectations. Assumptions are part of fallible human nature, not part of divine universal grace.
‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Asks John
From what we’ve heard of John, about his habits of dress and eating, - he was the originator of the sackcloth and locusts look - and from his public preaching, Jesus’s is just the sort of answer to his question that might give proof, if he needed proof, that Jesus is different to the other prophets; cousins in family, they are also cousins in theology. This is a parallel ministry that they share, and Jesus knows this too. They share this inclusive, humanity-wide, enabling ministry, walking parallel paths, set apart for different roles, but both showing the message of the good news of the kingdom. What they both bring is hope; hope, love and the good news of prophecy – that ability to see how things can be different, and to show how all can share in the joy of God. None is greater than John the Baptist, but all are greater.
‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ asks John.
Well, yes, he is the one; and, no, no need to wait.
Amen
Questions:
- John’s been waiting, but he’s been very busy. How do we make our waiting active?
- Do we wait until all feels right before committing ourselves to Jesus – Why?