WAITING AMIDST CONFUSION Mother Joyce Locht, December 15, 2013.
It is the season of Advent – we are in a period of waiting. A time of waiting for something supernatural to appear. What is it we are really waiting for? Where do we look for what we seek? In the gospel reading set for today, we see John the Baptist in prison, where he is waiting. Waiting and not knowing what King Herod will decide about his future. Would he be released and continue his mission? Or be executed? He had another burning question: It had to do with Jesus, whom John had preached so forcefully and confidently. Questions and rumours were everywhere. Who was Jesus really? Was Jesus truly the Messiah? The one John the Baptist and generations before him had waited for so fervently and with such hope. They had deep yearnings and hopes for a Messiah, a savior who would usher in a new and better life. Was Jesus the one to accomplish this? Or should he, John the Baptist, and the others wait for another? Jesus and John were very different from one another, although both worked to bring in the kingdom of God. John lived a life of extreme simplicity – eating little and spending much time alone in the desert seeking a deeper relationship with God. About John people said, “He came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’.” And then there was Jesus. While imprisoned, John heard that Jesus was eating and drinking with all sorts of people. Outcasts with diseases – unclean people to be avoided so as not to become sick yourself. People labeled a burden. Immoral people. About Jesus, people said, “he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Many had doubts and questions about Jesus and perhaps John had some as well. Was Jesus the Messiah the Jewish people were waiting for and the prophets had spoken of? And if so, what kind of Messiah was this? To overthrow oppressors and restore justice, most expected a Messiah with might and strength. Jesus did not fit this image. Even though John was in prison waiting to hear what King Herod would do with him, John wanted to clear up the confusion and rumours about Jesus. He sent his friends on an urgent mission to ask Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
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