3rd Sunday in Advent
Matthew 11:2-11
"What child is this?"
"Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me." As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings’ houses. Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ’Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Matthew 11:2-11, RSV.
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savoiur, Jesus who is the Christ child. Amen
Our gospel lesson this morning sees John the Baptist in prison and he was wondering if Jesus was indeed the Messiah. So he sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the one.
Jesus does not say yes or no, to that question but tells the disciples of John to tell John what you have seen and heard. And what did they see and hear. The lame can walk the blind had received their sight,. Leper had been healed and the dead have been raised up.
Jesus told John’s disciples to go back and tell John what has been happening and then John could figure out for himself that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
John was probably having a difficult time understanding who Jesus was.
He might be thinking, "Lord, where did I go wrong? I did what I thought you wanted. I said what I thought you wanted me to say. You told me that Messiah was coming. But where is he? Where’s the fire, the ax, the judgment he’s supposed to bring? And why, if he’s here, would he let me stay in this place? I’ve heard rumors about this one called Jesus. I thought I knew my cousin pretty well. I remember that day in the Jordan when I baptized him. What a glorious day. I knew it was all beginning then. God’s whole plan was being put into play. But, where is he now? Why isn’t he doing what I said he would do? Is he really the one or should I look for another?
John waned to know why Jesus did not come with a fire instead of love. He wanted Jesus to bring judgment upon the people, but instead he brought love and forgiveness. This was not what John thought the one would do. He thought the one would come with fire and brimstone. but Jesus came with love and understanding. Jesus came with forgiveness.
Jesus then pays his respects to John by saying : Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
He tells the crowd that John indeed someone who should be respected for the message that he brought. John’s message was right for that time, but Jesus’ message of love and forgiveness is the main message that God wanted to come to this earth.
And today, which message do we listen to when we see the child come at Christmas? Do we see judgment or do we see love?
What child do we see on Mary’s lap sleeping as that song says. What child, the child of judgment or the child of love. The child who can answer all our questions of faith, or the child that leaves some of those questions unanswered.
Wondering, having doubts, is that okay? Do we shy away from these questions of doubts ? As Christians do we say doubts, questions of faith are wrong?
Paul Tillich points out that God does not stand aloof, apart from our questioning; rather God is in the struggle of doubt, making himself known through it. Doubt therefore is a vital part and element of the faith which justifies.
In the book, "A sign in the straw" Pastor Richard Hoefler asks, "Who of us have not cried out with John, ’Are you the Christ, or shall we look for another’? When life gets tough and we see innocent people suffer. The bad so often succeed while the good fail. When we face a world locked in the death grip of one meaningless war after another; when we witness the destruction of nature as greed and desire for comforts drain the earth of her natural resources; when we choke on pollution and stumble over wrecked lives of people struck down by drugs and alcoholism; who can help but cry out, ’If you are the Messiah, why this? Must we, shall we, look for another?’
He asks again,"When will we learn that faith does not have all the answers? Faith is a risk. Faith is a life of trust, not of certainty and security God never promised answers to all our questions. God never promised life without stress. He promises and gives only himself, with all the dangers and risks of personal encounters.".
He states further,"Our hope? Not faith without doubt, but faith within doubts. Not the answers we possess but who possesses us. We may doubt God, but God never doubts us. We may not know God but He with absolute certainty knows us. This is the gospel. This is our life. This is the love that will never let us go."
We need to have faith with all our doubts and questions. The child comes with love and allows us to face our doubts and questions about life and faith.
The child comes and changes everything about life for us. He makes the weak strong, the strong weak, the dirty clean, the sinful, sinless, and the unforgiven, forgiven. In a word he changes everything.
He is like the baby in the following:
The story goes that Roaring Camp was supposed to be the meanest, toughest mining town in all of the West. It was reported that there were more murders and thefts than any other place around. It was a terrible place inhabited entirely by men, except for one woman who made her living in the only way she knew how. Her name was Cherokee Sal.
She became pregnant by who knows whom and died while giving birth to a baby. The men took the baby and put her in a box with some old rags under her. Somehow that just didn’t seem right, so one of the men rode eighty miles to buy a rosewood cradle. He brought it back, and they put the rags and the baby in the beautiful new rosewood cradle. But the rags didn’t look very nice in the beautiful new cradle, so they had another man ride to Sacramento where he bought some beautiful silk and lace blankets. Now they put the baby in the cradle lined with silk and put the new blanket over her. It looked fine until someone happened to notice that the floor was so filthy.
So these hardened, tough men got down on their hands and knees, and with their calloused hands scrubbed the floor until it was spotless. Of course, now the walls and the ceiling and the dirty windows without curtains looked absolutely terrible. So they washed down the walls and the ceiling, and they put curtains at the windows. Things were beginning to look a lot better. But of course, they had to give up a lot of their fighting, because the baby slept a lot, and babies can’t sleep during a brawl. So the whole temperature of Roaring Camp seemed to go down.
They would take the baby out and set her by the entrance to the mine in her rosewood cradle, with one of the men staying next to her, so the others could see her when they came out of the mine. Then somebody noticed what a dirty place the mine entrance was, so they planted flowers, and they made a garden there. It really looked quite beautiful. The men would bring her shiny little stones that they would find in the mine. But when they would put their hands down next to hers, their hands looked so dirty. Pretty soon the general store was all sold out of soap and shaving gear. The baby was changing everything.
That’s also the way it is for those who have placed their faith in the babe of Bethlehem. The baby enters into their lives, and he slips into every crevice of their experience. (1)
The one who John was wondering about, Jesus the Christ child born in a manger came and changed everything about life. He came into every part of life and changed it.
It is this child of change that we await for during this advent season. The child in the manger, the child on Mary’s lap sleeping that comes now in our lives and changes us from the inside out. He comes with love to forgive, to love, to change us.
Will you let that child of change enter your life this Advent and Christmas season? Will you be changed from the inside out?
"A pastor writes:
One rainy afternoon I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick.
Suddenly, my daughter, spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. "Dad, I’m thinking of something."
This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while, and was now ready to expound all that her six-year-old mind had
discovered. I was eager to hear.
"What are you thinking?" I asked. "The rain," she began, "is like sin, and the windshield wipers are like God wiping our sins away."
After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond. "That’s really good, Aspen."
Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take this revelation? So I asked.. "Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What
does that tell you?"
Aspen didn’t hesitate one moment with her answer: "We keep on sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us." (2)
We keep on sinning and God just keeps on forgiving us is the way for us to see this child born in a manger.
What child is this, the child who comes into every aspect of our lives and changes us, forgives us and cleanses us from our sins. Will you allow that child into your live this Advent and Christmas season? Will you allow him to change you from the inside out? Will you allow him to clean up every aspect of your life?
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale December 10, 2007
(1) Contributed by: Rodney Buchanan at SermonCentral
(2) from inspirational-stories@yahoogroups.com
