Loving God, sometimes it is in our times of greatest need that we discover that your power is real.  Lord, we do not wish for times of trouble, but we ask that when they come you would make your presence and power known to us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    I’m not sure if you noticed or not, but things are quite a bit different for John the Baptist this week than they were last week.  Last week, we heard lots of fire and brimstone from John – calling people to repent and calling the religious leaders a “brood of vipers” (Mt. 3:7).  There was fire coming, and an axe getting ready to chop down trees (or people) who were not bearing good fruit.  In short, the Messiah was coming, and God’s judgment along with him!

    However, this week we find John sitting in prison and full of doubts.  He expected that the Messiah would show up, and the whole world would change – but the world isn’t looking a whole lot different than it did before.  It doesn’t seem as though Jesus has been chopping down sinners and throwing them into the fire.  In fact, Jesus hasn’t seemed very “Messiah-like” at all.  He doesn’t hang out with the powerful leaders or the movers and the shakers.  Instead, he always seems to be with the sinners and the outcasts and the poor and the vulnerable.

    And so, John is wondering if it has all been worth it.  Has he just wasted his life telling people that the Messiah is about to come?  Is Jesus really the one, or are people supposed to wait for somebody else?  And so, sitting there in prison, with nothing but time on his hands, John sends some of his disciples to Jesus, looking for answers.  Are you really the one, he asks?

    It’s hard to say if Jesus’ response would have been very reassuring for John.  “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.  And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” (Mt. 11:5-6).  Jesus might not be the type of Messiah that John was expecting, and yet the things that are happening are still straight out of the prophets.  All those who are in need are most certainly happy to welcome Jesus.  Perhaps Jesus is saying that he came for people just like John – those who are in prison and in deep darkness and full of doubts.

    If the truth be told, many of us have doubts just like John.  We hear about the promise of peace on earth and goodwill toward all people, and yet, when are we going to see it?  We hear about “streams in the desert” and “sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isa. 35).  We hear about the mighty being cast down from their thrones and the lowly being lifted up and the hungry being fed (Lk. 1).  When do we get to see all these things?

    For many people, life is full of disappointments.  At times, we are disappointed in ourselves and lament that we are simply not the people that we wanted to be.  At times, we are disappointed in the world around us, especially when we continue to see tragedies and wars and violence and oppression.  And at times we are even disappointed in God, for God does not always respond as we think that God should respond.  We don’t always see answers to prayer right away.  We see things happen that we think God should have stopped.  And in some cases, we simply want a God who is more like we are – condemning offenders rather than forgiving them, and allowing us to simply live comfortable lives and hang out with those who are like us.

    However, God’s concern is always for those who are most vulnerable.  All of the people who are mentioned when Jesus sends his response to John need help: the blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf, the dead and the poor.  At the time, John also needed help – sitting in prison and wracked by doubts.  These are the people for whom Jesus came.

    I have a suspicion that most of us don’t like to think of ourselves as weak or vulnerable.  We like to be in control.  We prefer to do things for ourselves.  We don’t want to be beholden to anybody.  We want to be strong and capable and able to look after both ourselves and our families.  However, every so often things happen that show us our own vulnerability.

    A sudden job loss or a car accident can change everything in an instant.  Illness or disability can happen at any time.  A storm or another disaster can wipe out everything we’ve worked for.  The loss of a loved one can turn our world upside down.  And ultimately, we do not have the power to keep ourselves from dying.

    This is not to depress you or to scare you.  This is simply reality.  We were created with a need for God and for one another.  In fact, we were created in order to live in loving relationships with God and with one another.  Obviously, sin gets in the way of these relationships and continues to be a problem in the world, but Jesus came to call us back to this way of love.

    Interestingly enough, it is often during our times of greatest need that we experience the reality of God’s presence and power.  I recently heard Chung Hyun Kyung speak about her faith and about the cross of Christ.  She comes from South Korea, and as a young woman she didn’t really think that Jesus or Christianity had much to offer her.  However, while she was a university student, she was imprisoned and tortured for having taken part in protests against the government.

    As she shared her story, she said that it was actually while she was being tortured that she experienced the presence of God through Jesus Christ.  She could feel God's presence in the room and God’s power strengthening her, and she knew that Jesus was with her, for he, too, had been tortured.  For her, it was this experience of the reality of God’s presence and power that led her to become a Christian, and she continues to speak about God’s concern for all those who are imprisoned or oppressed.  Of course, we’ve also heard lots about Nelson Mandela recently, who kept his faith throughout his imprisonment and modeled forgiveness and reconciliation once he was released.

    While many of us probably wish that God simply wouldn’t allow things that are hurtful or destructive to happen, it often seems to be during those times that God's presence and power become most obvious.  This is not to say that God wants these things to happen to us.  However, God does allow certain things to happen.  I recently heard an excellent statement to think about in this respect.  “God could have created us good, or God could have created us free; and God chose to make us free.”  And so, we are free to love God, and we are free to make self-centred and hurtful choices in our lives.

    We are free to reject God, and we are free to embrace the love and forgiveness that is offered to us through Jesus Christ.  We are also free to discover that when we are aware of our own weakness and vulnerability, it is then that God’s power is seen most clearly to be at work in us.  When we are at our wits’ end, it is then that we learn to rely on the power of God.  And when we are full of doubts and wondering if it’s all been worth it, it is then that we are reminded that Jesus came for us.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Advent 3(A)                                    Matthew 11:2-11
December 15, 2013                            Isaiah 35:1-10
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church                        Luke 1:46b-55
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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