The Sermon Text —Matthew 11:2_11

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: 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."

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

It was a moment of passage in my life in the church. I was in eighth grade and had just completed three years of confirmation. And there, on a spring Sunday morning I was standing in front of the Freeman Lutheran Congregation responding to questions asked by our pastor. It was a special day as many relatives, aunts, uncles, and cousins, were invited to witness the confirmation ceremony. The questions were from Luther’s Small Catechism. It began with the pastor asking a confirmand, "What is the fourth commandment?" The response, "Honor your father and your mother." And then the follow up question, "What does this mean for us?" And the response, "We are to fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and others in authority, but respect, obey, love, and serve them." In some ways it was easy for me as I was good at memorizing. And as all the questions and answers were known ahead of time, there were no surprises, unless you couldn’t remember an answer.

Confirmation for me was largely a time of memorizing the catechism and a number of Bible passages, like John 3:16 and even whole Psalms, Psalm 23 and Psalm One come to mind. In retrospect, I can say that I have valued much of what I memorized. However, confirmation was not a time for us to ask questions outside the box, especially faith questions. No one would have thought of asking questions which would challenge the pastor. Even though we were in effect engaged in religious studies we were not encouraged to ask our own questions, questions about the resurrection, about suffering, about sex. And like many people in rural Wisconsin churches, we were told by our parents to respect the pastor, and to accept him at his word. We knew better than to challenge authority. In fact, the response we had learned to the fourth commandment told us not to anger those in authority. Certainly we never would have thought of challenging the authority of Jesus. We would never have asked if he was truly the Messiah. We would never have questioned the very being of God.

In our text today we meet John the Baptist. John had been very close to Jesus. John had baptized Jesus. John had heard firsthand the words of Jesus. He had lived with Jesus. We know that John recognized Jesus as the One greater than himself. In fact, he consented to baptize Jesus only after Jesus insisted that he do so. We also know that John believed that Jesus was the One who would gather the wheat into his barn and then "burn the chaff with unquenchable fire." And finally John believed that the wheat would be separated from the weeds. John, in fact, was looking forward to the time in which there would be a judgment on the evil people of his day. In effect, John had been a part of an intense confirmation program. He had heard firsthand the words of Jesus. He was perhaps the truest believer in Jesus.

But instead of walking alongside Jesus , John found himself in prison because he had accused King Herod of having an affair with his brother’s wife. He had made a judgement based on his faith and it was costly. The judgment of King Herod had gone against him. And even though he was close to Jesus he began to realize that Jesus didn’t seem to have the power to release him from prison. And so he began to ask, "Where was this new day in which there would be a judgment and then the wheat would be separated from the chaff? One would surmise that King Herod would fit into the chaff category. So then, why was evil triumphing over good? Why was Jesus not able to put an end to Herod’s power?

It’s likely that there were lots of common people who took lightly the preaching of Jesus. We know that the Romans, people in political power, questioned the authority of Jesus. And there must have been people in the crowds that heard him, who said to themselves, "I wonder if he really is the One who is to come." We know that only 10% of the people of John’s day identified with one of the three religious communities of his time. In other words, 90% of the people were silent or reserved about their religious feelings. Even so, one would not have expected that the question of Jesus’ authority would come from one of the most faithful of his followers. Who would have thought that John the Baptist, the one who publicly announced his coming by baptism, would be the one who would ask the question , "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"

The question is perhaps understandable. John is in prison. He is uncertain about his future. He is impatient. He wants God to act now. Now, Jesus, would be a good time for King Herod to be brought down. Now, Jesus, would be a good time to release the prisoners. Now, Jesus, would be a good time to begin judgment on the evil in the world. For your sake, what am I doing in this God forsaken prison?

Is John’s question your question this Advent season? Have you had it with waiting for the One who is to come? Jesus, if you are the One who is to come, why then is my friend Sarah dying of cancer? If you came to bring peace to this world, why are we engaged in a war in a far off land? And why are there corrupt governments which continue to falsely imprison people? And why do people give up on the poor?

In this season of Advent, in this season of waiting, you have probably guessed that John’s imprisonment is a metaphor for all the ways that, even after the coming of Jesus, injustice goes right on, unchecked. Why we ask, if God exists, and if Jesus is as important as we claim, shouldn’t things be better now?

But first, back to the searching question, "Are you he who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" The response of Jesus is fascinating. Jesus doesn’t say to John, "John, I want you to go back to ponder and meditate on my words". Jesus doesn’t say to John, "Memorize some parables, hold onto some of my words, and you will conclude that I am the One to come." No, instead he says to the disciples: "Go and tell John what you hear and see: 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." Jesus is telling his disciples that there is change around them because of his coming.

Jesus is saying that when one encounters him, look for change. There are specific concrete acts that begin to happen when his followers interact with the world around them. The world around us begins to change. As I read this text, I couldn’t help but think of my visit to Chicago a couple of weeks ago with a group of Bethel members. We had been asked by our church council to do research on church related community centers. Several people suggested that we should visit Bethel Lutheran Church on the west side of Chicago. And so we did. As we finished our drive in the neighborhood one member said, "I wish every Bethel member in Madison could have shared in this trip." What we saw was the transformation of a neighborhood because of the vision of Christian people; a vision to upgrade housing and community services. As we traveled down block after block we saw housing that had been renovated by Bethel New Life. We saw houses built in relationship with Habitat for Humanity. We saw new affordable homes. We saw lot after lot which had been cleared and reclaimed for housing. And we met in a retirement center which was once an abandoned hospital. We drove by street corners, once centers of drug usage, now safe and free of drugs. The director of Bethel New Life told us that their organization had become the largest change agent in the whole community. Over 40 years ago, starting with a budget of $5,000.00 this congregation has been the seed from which has sprouted a renewed neighborhood. We left inspired and renewed, it gave us hope as we entered the season of Advent.

One Biblical commentator said that perhaps part of Jesus’ message to John is that more is going on that John has noticed. When Jesus reviews his ministry for John he is saying that God is at work in the world. But transformation that is happening may occur one by one over a period of time. It’s easy to make judgments about what someone else is or isn’t doing. Perhaps the reason that Larry and Jane haven’t been to church often this past year is because they have traveled to Milwaukee each weekend to care for their mother. Perhaps the reason that Sue hasn’t had time to join in volunteer work at Bethel is because she has been using her spare hours to shop for a homebound neighbor. Perhaps the reason Ann doesn’t have time to sing in the choir is because she has decided to spend extra hours each week with a child struggling at school. Often there is more going on than we have noticed. I am always amazed by the many kindnesses of people of faith, there is more going on than one can see.

So who are the people called to be change agents in Jesus’ name? Who is called to act in His name? Who has the authority, the power, the willingness to take a lead in restoring wholeness to communities. The New York Times columnist Thomas Freidman recently wrote a column about a group of M.I.T. students who are working to advance energy knowledge with the goal of building a clean car which could get 200 miles of gas to the gallon. Freidman acknowledges that energy solutions might well come from sources outside of the car industry. Moreover, Friedman says what gives him hope is the tag line of the M.I.T. students which is: "We are the people we have been waiting for."

I’d like to give that tag line an Advent twist. "We are the people Jesus has been waiting for to bring in the new kingdom." Look around you this morning. We’re it. We’re it. We are the people who are not only looking for the One who is to come but have been called to respond to the coming of the One. We are the people who are called out in our professions to deal with the issues facing our families, our community, our nation, and our world. We’re the people God is calling to care for the poor, to provide solutions to our energy problems, to work towards equitable health care. It’s too easy to ask, "What is the church doing in our world?" The question for us this morning is "What are we doing in the world?" We are the church. We are the "body of Christ" in this world.

And how will we know what to do? How will our King come this Advent season? As we await his coming for what signs should we be looking? Victor Hugo in "The Tale of Two Cities" portrays for us how a king came riding into Paris centuries ago. As the king’s chariot goes through a side street it knocks down a little child in the street—crushing him to death beneath the wheels and the hoofs of the horses. The child dies. That is the way the king came in "The Tale of Two Cities." He came commanding and demanding. He came summoning people to get out of his way. He came impatient and proud. He came disregarding people, he came carelessly. He came and the weak and the hurt were cast out. He came only with self-concern. He came as though he was going some other place.

But that is not how Jesus comes to us. Jesus doesn’t come as though he was going to another place. He doesn’t come commanding. He comes asking. Jesus doesn’t come summoning, but he appears before us. Jesus doesn’t come impatient. He comes slowly and carefully. He doesn’t come proudly, he comes humbly.

For Jesus comes to us "softly and gently." And we are the people he has been waiting for to herald the kingdom in this age. We are the people who will hear his word and then need to translate that word into action. The confirmation lesson is indeed a lot more than memorizing questions and answers. The confirmation lesson is a lot longer than three years. The confirmation lesson is one which should result in doing. The confirmation lesson is now a part of us, both in word and deed. And word and deed can’t be separated. We are the people he is waiting for.

The English poet Graham Cook says it well in a poem:

The signs of his presence

are blind people who can see,

the lame who walk again,

those whose skin diseases are cleared,

the deaf who can hear,

the dead who are brought back to life,

and the poor who have reason

for delighting in the good news they hear.