Our Lectionary text today is full of the sights and sounds of the Coming One. John the baptizer hears in prison about the eruption of miracles, signs, and wonders, and sends his disciples to inquire. Jesus responds by telling them to report what they hear and see. He asks the crowd what they went to see in the wilderness.
It was truly an incredible time. Matthew chapter 9 has an impressive list of things Jesus accomplished in villages around the countryside. He healed a paralytic, dried up a woman’s perpetual bleeding, and raised a dead little girl back to life. He restored sight to a blind man and speech to a man with a demon. Then in chapter 10 he sent his disciples on a mission to more towns to do more of the same.
As John heard about all this no doubt he thought, “But what about me? Isn’t he going to do anything for me?” Maybe this is why Jesus told John’s disciples as he dismissed them, “And tell John blessed is he who is not offended with me.” Essentially that meant there would be no release from prison for John and he would have to deal with it with a good attitude. He would have to live by the words he told his disciples: Jesus must increase, John must decrease, even if it means remaining in Herod’s prison.
All of this goes together to tell us it is not about us at all, but all about Jesus. He must be the focus of everything and the center of everything. The things he does for people are to call attention to Jesus. Paul reminds us that the whole of creation was made by him and for him.
When Jesus told John’s disciples to witness to the things they had heard and seen he was telling them to witness to Jesus as the Coming One. All these things were prophesied about the Coming One, possible only through the Coming One.
It is so easy for us to be distracted by nonessential things. We don’t like the music or the way the preacher does things. We place importance on trivial programs and issues and feelings that don’t really help anyone see Jesus. In the American South in particular we are masters on making the focus trivial things. Like football, boring Sunday evening services, and endless parties, fundraisers, and time-wasters. It seems we like to come to church to be at church, as if physical presence inside the church building is going to point us to Jesus.
None of the things Jesus did to let people recognize him were done in a church building. They were done out and among the people. They were done in ways that changed lives, and pointed to the unmistakable Coming One. It is only when we exchange the focus on Jesus for focus on ourselves and our trivial pursuits do we get confused.
Don’t lose sight of the Coming One. Jesus comes. Now, to tell what you hear and see.
3 Advent A (2010)
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