"Facing Doubts"
Sermon Presented December 16, 2007
Third Sunday of Advent - Year A
Matthew 11:2-11
When questions race through your mind, what do you do? Some of you check the Internet for answers. I seldom use this resource because I have slow dial-up service and it takes too long to get the answers. In my student -pre-Internet days, I consulted the Readers Guide to Periodic Literature and the card catalog in the library. However, my favorite method of obtaining answers - then and now - is to ask an expert. I will risk the possibility of appearing stupid to ask questions of a professor, guest speaker or knowledgeable acquaintance. Sometimes the answer is simple or one I should know, but when questions burn, I must ask.
John the Baptist can't check out Jesus' Web site to get answers to his question, and he can't ask in person, because he's stuck in prison. He wants confirmation that Jesus is the Messiah. If Jesus is the Messiah, surely he will see that John is released from prison. If Jesus isn't, then John isn't the prophet he thinks he is. To get the answer, he sends his disciples to question Jesus.
Hear the exchange as written in Matthew 11:2-11. (Read text.)
John the Baptist seemed most confident of Jesus' identity when he baptized him, but now that he's in prison and facing death, he wants to be sure. What if he's wrong? What if he's looking in the wrong place - in the wrong person - for the messiah? He may not have much time left, and this burning question is searing his mind and heart.
It's clear from the reading that John has been following Jesus' activities, and he can't connect his image of the messiah with the person of Jesus. Everyone assumes the messiah will be a political leader who abolishes evil. John knows God's power is at work in Jesus, but evil is rampant in the world. Who is Jesus? He must resolve this pressing question, and so he asks Jesus - through his disciples - if Jesus is the promised one.
Jesus doesn't make it easy by giving a yes or no answer but he allows his listeners to judge for themselves - based on his ministry and the prophecies from Hebrew Scripture. He tells John's disciples to report to John what they see and hear and let John answer his own question. John's going to have to weigh the evidence and come up with his own conclusion.
It doesn't seem possible that John doubts the role that Jesus is assuming, but he does. He may doubt his own role - his prophetic ministry. When Jesus came to John for baptism, John knew that Jesus was greater than he and almost refused to baptize him. At that time, the gospel writer tells us that the heavens opened and a voice said: "This is my Son, the beloved." So what's the problem now? The problem is that Jesus doesn't fit the messiah image, and he has never said in plain Aramaic that he is the messiah. Thus, this faithful prophet who once expressed a need to be baptized by Jesus, now faces his doubts and disappointments.
Jesus didn't make it easy for John and he doesn't make it easy for us. We continually come face to face with our doubts - in the midst of our faith - and we wonder if somehow we got it all wrong. And the answer for us - as for John - is to respond on the basis of what we see and what we hear. In the midst of our hope - as we face disappointments and disorientation - what do we see in the person of Jesus? Are we faithful when things go well and unfaithful during trying times? How do we understand our own story in the light of God's story, when the two don't seem to intersect? Can we step outside of our expectations and let God strengthen our weak hands and feeble knees? Can we continue our journey of following Jesus without fear?
What caused John to move from one who is certain to an uncertain doubter? What causes people to move in and out of faith?
Friday I attended a program at Cardinal Stritch University titled An Advent Morning with Dr. Michael Downey. Dr. Downey earned a Ph.D. in Theology from The Catholic University of America; is the author of more than 20 books on the topic of spirituality; holds the position of the Cardinal's Theologian for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; and teaches at St. John's Seminary in L. A. Friday morning brought peace and hope to this Advent season for me.
Dr. Downey's topic was "Hope in the Season of Advent". We understand that Advent is a time of waiting and watching, but in our fast-paced world, we don't take the time to wait or watch - at least not for long. We are easily bored and distracted, and insignificant things block our vision of something greater. If we watch the entire Packers game this afternoon, then that is about the extent of our ability to focus.
We find hope - and we find Christ - as we watch and wait during times of struggle and suffering, and these are times we would like to skip. No one wants to suffer and yet here is where God comes to us with hope. During times of suffering, we often find hope - find God - in poetry, art, and music. We find hope in our experiences - when our world is coming apart at the seams. Hardships chip away at our faith - at our hope - and it is imperative that we open our hearts to God and not give up until hope is ours.
John the Baptist needed hope. In prison, his life flashed before him and his vision of God's reign waned. So in search of answers, he sent his disciples to find Jesus.
We live in the tension between the reign of God as established by Jesus and the final fulfillment of that reign. The reign of God is central to Jesus' teaching. It's the way Jesus talks about the way the world will be when God has God's way in the world. It's a world in which holiness, truth, justice, love and peace reign. This is the hope that we envision - and the hope that we must continue to move toward.
Hope is the ability to work for something just because it's good and right and just. Hope isn't optimism - but certainty that something in life makes sense. To live a life of hope is difficult, but it is possible. Hope is something we work for on one hand and something we receive as gift on the other. Facts aren't the last word, and this makes faith and hope difficult for rational thinkers.
Suffering without hope leads to resentment and despair. Hope without suffering leads to a sterile faith. Both are part of the life of a follower of Jesus.
Christians live in the hope of resurrection. We proclaim Christ's death and resurrection and we proclaim that he will come again. The season of Advent turns our minds and hearts to all of these comings - Christ coming as a baby; Christ coming to be baptized of John; Christ coming to heal and inaugurate the reign of God; and Christ's coming at the end of time.
What the followers of both John and Jesus saw was evidence that God was doing something radical in Jesus' ministry and that God had indeed ushered in a new age. It was so new that John was on the outside. God's rule came to earth in the person of Jesus.
What do we see and hear? What evidence do we have that Jesus ushered in God's rule? Well, Jim and Grisana heard the call to minister to a Burmese family because Grisana could communicate with the mother in a language she understands. Chris heard the call to donate her old car to an organization that provides cars to single working mothers who need transportation. Wilanna and the choir heard the call to sing at Bradford Terrace and Northfield Manor and brought cheer to others. Others donate animals to the Heifer Project, items to Milwaukee Christian Center, money to charities and time aiding those in need. Sometimes our insight comes as we meet with another and other times it comes in a way that we can only explain as a visit from God. With the coming of God, we are invited to respond.
Dr. Downey said that hope never comes to one alone! Hope dies in isolation and is awakened only in community. Hope is mediated through others - and that mediation comes as we share the good news of Jesus Christ with others.
How do we keep hope alive for ourselves and for others? How do we help to bring the reign of God to our corner of the world? How do we maintain hope in the face of indifference and even hostility? What do we need to do differently to preserve the hope within? How can we be for others the hope that we envision?
On this third Sunday of Advent - the Advent Sunday of Joy - let's take concrete steps to nurture the hope within us. Let's feed our faith and not our doubts as we ask questions and wait patiently for answers. When we strengthen our feeble faith through opening our minds and hearts to Jesus, we will find hope for ourselves and also become the source of hope for others. Amen.
