The Rev. Samuel Kennedy
Advent 3 A - December 11, 2022
A blessed Gaudete Sunday to you. What is it about this Sunday that sets it apart from the other Sundays in our journey through the season of Advent? There are signs around us that something is changing – something is a bit different. The warm glow from the advent wreath is a little stronger today -- a bit brighter now with the third candle lit. Our priests are dressed in rose vestments, and if you have one of the traditional advent wreaths at home you may have lit a rose-colored candle this morning as you woke up.
While we the reading from which this Sunday gets its name is not assigned for us this year, our journey through Advent does begin to take a particular turn this Sunday which I believe is very much a cause for joy. But we are going to discover that cause for joy within a Gospel lesson full of dissonance.
In Matthew’s gospel, we continue with a narrative that focuses on the rather fiery and enigmatic character John the Baptist. But whereas last week we met him in the full strength of his ministry in the Jordan valley, in this week’s Gospel, we find him in a dramatically different situation. He has been imprisoned unjustly by Herod Antipas, and while John may not have known it at this point in his story, we the readers know that his earthly journey is nearing its end. Nothing about that situation speaks of joy.
Our Gospel for today opens with John in prison sending a message to his cousin, Jesus. Our passage reads, “When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Mind you, this is the same John who had been “all in” on the idea that Jesus was the long awaited One. The One whom the prophets had foretold. The One who would come to his people and set them free.
What had happened to lead John from such certainty about Jesus to this place of doubt? Was it the fact that he was unjustly imprisoned? Just some understandable depression? Perhaps.
But I find it unlikely that a figure as bold and contrarian as John was terribly surprised to find himself imprisoned by corrupt leaders. After all, he had spent much of his ministry decrying the immorality and hypocrisy of the power structures and leaders of his day. And while I can only imagine the hardships of life in prison in the 1st century, I would imagine that the asceticism of his life up to that point would have equipped him to be able to live in such a place without falling into deep despair.
It would appear that John’s doubt stems from something deeper than the setting he finds himself in – as terrible as that setting may be.
Lets take another look at the text, it reads “When John… heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples…” to ask this question, ‘‘’Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
It would seem that there is something fundamental about Jesus’ ministry that has led John to this place of profound doubt. Jesus, it would appear, is not measuring up to John’s expectations.
In our Gospel lesson last week we heard John articulate some of his expectations for Jesus’ ministry. When talking about Jesus he says to his listeners, “I tell you, the ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water….but after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
John expected the promised One to come with righteous vengeance and a measure of wrath, with a winnowing fork and the flames of purification. And lest we dismiss John too quickly, we must remember that these are not unnatural or even unscriptural expectations. In our Old Testament lesson which soars with hope and provides an evocative litany of images of transformation – images of thirsty land being transformed into bubbling spring, and of the parched desert bursting into bloom, we also hear the expectation that God will execute vengeance on behalf of the oppressed, “Strengthen the feeble hands”, the text reads,” steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, Be strong do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come and save you.”
This appears to be what John was expecting; what he was longing to see. And if we are honest, if I am honest, this is sometimes what I long to see. I want to see those who oppress others, and certainly those I feel are oppressing me, punished. I want them to experience some sort of retribution. And quite frankly, on a practical level in this world, the unseating of unjust powers always seems to require a measure of violent power on the part of the oppressed or those who choose to protect them. It’s just the way this world seems to work. So, I don’t think John is terribly misguided in his expectation, that the promised One of God, would be ushering in his reign in a decidedly different way than Jesus appears to be living, teaching, and ministering.
How does Jesus respond? Well, he doubles down really.
He replies, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see. Jesus is reminding John’s disciples that change is truly afoot, and Jesus is ushering it in. Jesus continues by quoting from our Old Testament Lesson for today, “the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
Note what Jesus decidedly leaves out of his quote. He leaves out the hallmark descriptions of Divine violence. He doesn’t say, take heart John, just a few more days, and I will rally the people to overthrow the tyrants who have imprisoned you. Take heart John, because in just a few more days I will marshal legions of angels to dismantle the systems of oppression that have subjugated your people.”
No, instead, Jesus indicates that he is doing something very different. He is starting from the inside out. He doesn’t begin by eliminating the systems of oppression, but by healing the very wounds that the systems of oppression are built to exploit. The blind who are helplessly dependent on the seeing -- they have their sight restored. The lepers who are excluded from the community by virtue of their illness? They are cleansed and reincorporated into society– free to return to the Temple of their God. The deaf hear, and even the dead are raised – the power of the sword itself is mitigated. And this is indeed incredibly good news for all of these poor who have been healed and given new life.
But what we do not hear, is Jesus centering the sword of justice in this his work of restoration. And Jesus knows this is a conspicuous and scandalous absence. He knows it isn’t what John expects as he adds to his message, “And blessed are those who do not stumble on account of me.”
But notice, there is another conspicuous absence in our Gospel lesson today. And it is this. Jesus does not condemn John for his doubt or his fundamental misunderstanding about how Jesus was going to usher in the Kingdom of God. In fact, Jesus goes on to publicly commend John for his faithful work as a prophet who leaned into the winds of oppression and injustice. Jesus does not swing the sword of condemnation toward his forerunner who is struggling in doubt, confusion, and quite possibly anger, but rather extends to him the gift of love that can expand John’s heart and mind, that can bring to John to the place where he can rejoice in the work of God that extends far beyond anything John had been able to conceive of.
And this is what we are invited to take joy in today, my siblings. As the swirling clouds of the apocalyptic imagery of advent begin to clear, we find the image of this coming Kingdom of God beginning to take shape. And the shape it takes is challenging but it is cause for true joy. It is challenging because it will frustrate some of our basic notions about how bad power is disrupted and how the oppressed get lifted up. But it is cause for joy because this Kingdom that Jesus ushers in, creates change that cannot be undone.
There is also cause for joy, because this is how Jesus comes to each of us. Not bearing the sword of vengeance and retribution, but with the powerful touch of healing love. To set us free from the spiritual blindness and willful ignorance that leads us to participate in these systems of oppression and injustice. Our participation in these systems is both external and internal, and he also comes to set us free from the spirals of shame that lead us to acts of great internal violence.
This advent, Jesus does not come bearing the sword of Divine retribution but rather bearing the cross of love. He comes to heal his people and set us free. And if we can allow ourselves to not be scandalized by this Jesus, I believe we will find that this is indeed great reason to rejoice.
In the name of God: Lover, Beloved, and Love Overflowing.
Amen.
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