O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.
Isn’t it a relief when someone asks the question that you have but were too embarrassed to ask? John the Baptizer asks the question that many wonder about – “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Over the past several months, our family has really been enjoying watching the television series The Chosen, and when you adapt the Gospel stories into that format, you have to fill in some gaps. One of the things in the show that the disciples are constantly wondering about and saying is, “Jesus, this is so great that you’re teaching with such wisdom and healing all these people, and multiplying the loaves and fish, wow, that was really something. But Rome is still occupying our Promised Land, the Temple leadership is focused on power and wealth while ignoring the needs of the people, and the throne of David is empty, so, uh, when are we going to march on Jerusalem and start the regime change?”
Everyone around Jesus knows what the assignment for the Messiah is – kick out the Romans, replace the corrupt religious leaders, and usher in the glory days of Israel. But it seems like the Messiah didn’t get the memo. John, the forerunner of the Messiah, is in prison and will soon be executed; and he’s bold enough to ask that question that was on everyone’s mind – “Are you the Messiah, or did we get this all wrong?” And there’s an implied directive underneath the question – “Let’s get this show on the road and stop putzing around with these minor miracles.”
One of the consistent refrains throughout the Psalms, which is often referred to as the Prayer Book of ancient Israel, is “how long, O Lord.” How long will the suffering continue? How long will our enemies triumph over us? How long until you respond to us? Do you ever find yourself asking those sorts of questions? I know I do from time to time. How long will injustice seem to be more attractive than mercy and compassion? How long will it take for us to learn that violence never actually solves the problem? How long until we realize that this planet has enough resources for everyone to have enough as long as no one has too much? How long until, with all of our economic and scientific advances, we find the cure for cancer and dementia?
Or perhaps our questions are more like John’s than the Psalmist’s – Is Jesus the Messiah, or should we expect someone else to come along and usher in peace among the nations? Is Jesus the Christ, or should we expect politicians to get more done in terms of social reforms? Is Jesus Lord, or have we bought into a belief system that will one day be viewed the way that we view the stories about Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena?
If you have questions our doubts about faith, that’s good. St. Augustine famously said that “Our hearts are restless until they rest in God.” So doubts and questions that stem from our hearts’ yearnings and our minds’ wonderings are faithful and holy because they help us move towards resting in the peace of God which passes all understanding. Our doubts and questions take us deeper in the mysteries of faith and of God’s love for us.
It is not, at all, unfaithful or inappropriate to ask questions of God – we have the great example of John doing just that. Whatever questions and doubts you have, bring them. I’m a big believer that the Church’s most important and effective tool for formation is worship. It’s why I put such an emphasis on being intentional when it comes to worship because we become what we worship, and how we worship teaches us how to live. One important liturgical lessons is that God gracefully receives what we have to offer, sacramentally transforms it, and then returns it to us as a means of grace and growth. So, in the Eucharist, we present to God bread and wine, which are consecrated and become for us the Body and Blood of Jesus, which nourishes us in faith, hope, and love. Or the money that we put in the plate, God receives and blesses, and turns into ministries of compassion, service, and witness.
Well, the same thing is true of our questions and doubts – we bring them to God who will sanctify them as a pathway towards knowing God more deeply. As we heard the prophet Isaiah say, “A highway shall be there in the wilderness, it shall be for God’s people.” It’s a highway into knowing God.
And many times, God does this transforming work through people – this is part of the reason why Deacon Kris, Deacon Sam, and I are here. Yes, we have certain ministerial and liturgical duties, but we are also companions in faith whose call is to serve the people of God. If you’d like to think through or pray about these questions and doubts that you might have, please, let us know.
Something I hear often as a priest is, “I know you’re very busy and probably don’t have time.” To be very clear about this – it’s not true. Yes, I have plenty to keep me busy and I’m not sitting in my office playing Solitaire, but, as I said in my first sermon here, my call is about working with you for your joy in the Gospel.
Starting in January, I’m going to continue a practice that I’ve been doing for years as a priest. Each week, I’ll be sending out postcards out to a handful of households. The postcard will tell you that I’m praying for you that week, which I will absolutely do each day; it will invite you to share any particular prayer requests you have; and it will invite you to meet with me. We can talk about whatever is on your mind, or just catch up. No agenda necessary. As Psalm 133 puts it, “How good and pleasant it is when we gather in unity.” Over the course of the year, every household will receive a postcard, and I hope you all will accept the invitation to get together. And those invitations to meet never expire.
All this is to say, if you have something you want to talk about, don’t worry about my calendar. That’s for me to deal with. It is my joy, honor, and sacred duty to serve as your priest, so don’t ever hesitate to reach out. It’s literally why I’m here. And if you don’t make appointments with me, I’ll be stuck in the office checking email and stuff like that – so you actually save me from all of that when you schedule a time to meet.
Again, it’s natural to have questions and doubts when we are talking about matters beyond our ability to fully understand. Let them become opportunities to go deeper, not to wander away. This is the model that John gives us – he’s asks a question and receives a response from Jesus that helps him, and us, to reset our expectations and receive Jesus as the Messiah that he is instead of the Messiah that we, in our limited understanding, think we need.
Jesus says, “Go and tell what you hear and see.” The word that Jesus uses for “tell” is related to the word “Gospel” or “Good News” – so Jesus is telling John’s disciples to go and share the Good News of the Gospel that they have seen. What good news has God put before your eyes that our world needs to know about?
In Advent, the sermons are focusing on the growing light of the season, which is symbolized in the Advent wreath. Over the past two Sundays, we’ve considered how light guides and purifies. Today, we focus on how light attracts. It’s a reality we’ve all noticed – our eyes are drawn to the light. Whether it’s the Christmas lights adorning our homes, the lit candles during our services of choral Compline, or the gentle and comforting welcome of a fireplace on a cold night – we are drawn to light.
There are signs of the light of Christ all around us, if we have eyes to see them. As Isaiah prophesied, in the desert wilderness, the crocus shall blossom. In a place devoid of life, beauty will spring up. Then Isaiah gives tangible examples of what the coming salvation of God will look like – the eyes of the blind being opened, the deaf shall hear, the lame shall leap, the mute will sing for joy, and barren places shall become fruitful.
But the people’s expectations for the Messiah was for something else. Their expectations became a distraction. Jesus says, “The blind are receiving their sight, the lame are walking, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf now hear, even the dead are raised.” In other words, what Isaiah told you to look for is exactly what you are seeing. Instead of being attracted to this clear evidence of the Messiah’s presence among them, they questioned themselves because of their expectations.
Expectations can be a dangerous thing because they distort reality and make us tell false stories about ourselves and the world. There are so many examples of the power of expectations – from the placebo effect, optical illusions, or drinking Sprite when you were expecting it to be milk. When something doesn’t meet our expectations, it can shock and repulse us instead of attracting us.
In the world of art, there’s the example of the restoration of the Sistine Chapel. For centuries, the frescos seemed somber and dark, particularly as they depict foreboding scenes judgment. Scholars wrote about the “somber genius” of Michelangelo. After the restoration, when layers of candle soot and varnish were removed, the truer colors emerged. They were bold and bright. But many were used to the “gloomy” character of the artwork that they could not see understand or accept the “joyful Michelangelo” that was found underneath the grime.
I’ve never met John the Baptizer – I don’t know for sure what he was expecting from his cousin, Jesus. Maybe he was expecting strong rebukes and overthrowing those in power. Whatever his expectations were, they were blinding him to the signs of joy that were demonstrated the Good News of the Messiah.
Perhaps the most attractive part of our faith is joy. Today is “Gaudete Sunday,” hence the rose vestments. The title “Gaudete” comes from the ancient Latin introit for day – from Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, Rejoice.” In the middle of this season in which we are preparing for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church reminds us that what we are waiting for is not doom and gloom, but rather the joyful and Good News of Jesus.
There’s a novel in which a Christian is questioned about their faith – “You say you are a Christian? Then where the devil is your joy?” That’s a good and valid question. Where is our joy? If the Gospel is Good News, then why do so many Christians seem dour and miserable? It’s been said that comparison is the thief of joy – which is about our expectations. If we expect Jesus to be a really good personal assistant, someone who makes our day line up nicely, gets us good parking spaces, and makes our problems go away with little to no effort on our part, we will be disappointed and robbed of the joy of the Gospel.
Of all people, we have the most to be joyful about – for the greatest news has been proclaimed to us. We are given the Gospel truth that we are the beloved of God, no matter what the world says about us. We are the recipients of limitless mercy and forgiveness; we are not defined by our mistakes or past. We have a peace that the world cannot give and cannot take away in knowing that we belong to the flock of the Good Shepherd. We trust that God blesses us with abundance, so we can stop living stories of scarcity. We proclaim the power of the Resurrection – that death is not final, that a crocus can blossom in the desert, that because of the love of God, all shall be well.
Isaiah says, “Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.” This is our witness to the world, to receive the joy of the Gospel and to reflect that joyous light to a weary and gloomy world. We do sometimes have to set aside our expectations and dig into our questions instead of avoiding them, but this world is charged with the grandeur of God, every common bush is afire with God. There is so much joy and Good News in Jesus to attract us. And there is such a bright and joyous future for us to embrace at Grace and St. Stephen’s.
There’s a book about the blessed mother called Truly Our Sister. Indeed, Mary is like an older sister in faith for us and she teaches us how to come closer to her son. This week, I would commend the opening lines of her song of joy, the Magnificat, to you. Pray those first lines each day and allow yourself to be attracted and drawn to the joy of Jesus – My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice!”
