Advent Devotion for Friday, December 15
Based on Matthew 11:2-15 (read it here: http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=33208366 )
There is tremendous pathos in this story of John the Baptist. John has been so self-confident from the start, so certain that he was called to prepare the way of the Lord by blazing a trail for Jesus in the world. The self-assured, almost cocky prophet looked the religious leaders in the eye and called them a brood of vipers. He spoke of unquenchable fire which awaited all who were “unfruitful trees” or “chaff.”
Could this be the same man? Sitting in prison, John’s cockiness melted away. And he began to wonder–desperately wonder–if it was actually true. Was he really blazing the trail for the Messiah? Or had he been duped? Had he duped himself? Had he thrown his life away, insulting all the respected religious leaders, taking the side of an unknown from Nazareth? Had it all been in vain?
In his desperation, John sent messengers to find Jesus. And they came with John’s desperate question: “Are you the one, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus, who it seems hardly ever answers a question directly, says, “Go tell John what you see and hear: the blind see. The lame walk. The lepers are clean. The deaf hear. The dead are alive again. The poor have good news.”
Any honest Christian I ever have known has struggled with doubt. Imprisoned as we are in 21st-century modern life, unable to physically be with Jesus, we sometimes wonder if this could all be true. Could a dead man live again? Could God really become a baby? Is there a God at all? Are we wasting our lives, worshiping every week, finding ways to serve, sharing our money generously and freely, trying so hard to walk the right path and bear fruit? Is Jesus really the one we should give our lives to, or should we wait for another?
This is why Jesus created a community called the church. Because, in isolation, doubt can cripple and paralyze us. Why do you think modern American culture is at once terribly lonely and terribly cynical? Because when we are alone, doubts can take root, and what we once knew was real can melt away when we are alone.
And so it is when we doubt, we must be like John the Baptist and seek Jesus out–in his community, the church. And just like John’s messengers, we will see healing there. We will see marriages healed and persevering. We will see people growing out of crippling selfishness into generosity. We will see captivity to old ways of living being broken and a new way of life entered into. We will see God’s people learning to love even the most difficult people and we will see people becoming more than they ever thought they could be.
Your doubts, which seemed so crippling when you were alone, melt away when you see what Jesus is still doing among his people today.
There is tremendous pathos in this story of John the Baptist. John has been so self-confident from the start, so certain that he was called to prepare the way of the Lord by blazing a trail for Jesus in the world. The self-assured, almost cocky prophet looked the religious leaders in the eye and called them a brood of vipers. He spoke of unquenchable fire which awaited all who were “unfruitful trees” or “chaff.”
Could this be the same man? Sitting in prison, John’s cockiness melted away. And he began to wonder–desperately wonder–if it was actually true. Was he really blazing the trail for the Messiah? Or had he been duped? Had he duped himself? Had he thrown his life away, insulting all the respected religious leaders, taking the side of an unknown from Nazareth? Had it all been in vain?
In his desperation, John sent messengers to find Jesus. And they came with John’s desperate question: “Are you the one, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus, who it seems hardly ever answers a question directly, says, “Go tell John what you see and hear: the blind see. The lame walk. The lepers are clean. The deaf hear. The dead are alive again. The poor have good news.”
Any honest Christian I ever have known has struggled with doubt. Imprisoned as we are in 21st-century modern life, unable to physically be with Jesus, we sometimes wonder if this could all be true. Could a dead man live again? Could God really become a baby? Is there a God at all? Are we wasting our lives, worshiping every week, finding ways to serve, sharing our money generously and freely, trying so hard to walk the right path and bear fruit? Is Jesus really the one we should give our lives to, or should we wait for another?
This is why Jesus created a community called the church. Because, in isolation, doubt can cripple and paralyze us. Why do you think modern American culture is at once terribly lonely and terribly cynical? Because when we are alone, doubts can take root, and what we once knew was real can melt away when we are alone.
And so it is when we doubt, we must be like John the Baptist and seek Jesus out–in his community, the church. And just like John’s messengers, we will see healing there. We will see marriages healed and persevering. We will see people growing out of crippling selfishness into generosity. We will see captivity to old ways of living being broken and a new way of life entered into. We will see God’s people learning to love even the most difficult people and we will see people becoming more than they ever thought they could be.
Your doubts, which seemed so crippling when you were alone, melt away when you see what Jesus is still doing among his people today.
posted by Rev. Michael Jordan at 1:44 PM
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