Mystery and Surprise

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

December 15, 2019

3 Advent A

          John the Baptist is in a bad way this morning.  Last Sunday, he was out in the wilderness calling the people to repent.  The people had poured into the wilderness to confess their sins and be baptized in the Jordan.  And, no wonder.  John told the people that if they repented, or turned from their ways, they would be prepared for the One who is to come, the One whose sandals John was not even worthy to carry.  But if the people did not repent, they would be thrown into the unquenchable fire.  Not much choice there!

          This morning, John the Baptist finds himself in a different sort of wilderness. That wilderness is prison.  John is in prison for telling King Herod that Herod should not be taking his brothers’ wife as his own. Given all the talk last week about the brood of vipers and the unquenchable fire, perhaps the conversation John the Baptist had with Herod was a little short on tact. Now John is held in prison without bail or much hope of being declared innocent.  So, John sends his disciples to ask Jesus to “Are you the One to come or shall we wait for another?”

          Waiting. When I was a child, I had no clue what Advent was, but I did know that the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas was one of some serious waiting.  My brother, sister, and I waited and tried to behave as Mom cooked, shopped, and prepared our house for relatives and guests to arrive.  We waited for the Christmas break from school to begin.  We waited for grandparents to arrive. We waited to get to eat the things our mom was preparing for the big day.  We knew what we were waiting for-the magic of Christmas morning with all the glory that day held.  But when night fell on Christmas day, the magic was over and, while we had new toys and clothes, and a few leftovers to eat, we pretty much got back to our normal lives.  Since we had no clue what Advent was, you can imagine that we had no clue about the 12 days of Christmas or Epiphany, so the tree came down the day after Christmas.  Christmas, done and dusted.  And my parents breathed a huge sigh of relief, I am sure.

          As children, Sarah, Bo, and I knew what we were waiting for.  We had watched the preparations and made a list.  John the Baptist knew what he was waiting for, too.  Last week, he gave us a pretty clear job description for the One who is to come. That job description read something like this: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”  Here’s the problem: So far in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus has called disciples, preached the Sermon on the Mount, made it clear that he has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it, given the Lord’s prayer, and healed many people.  John has not heard one word about wheat and chaff, judgement, broods of vipers or unquenchable fire.  John expected some hell fire and damnation out of Jesus, and there has been nary a lightning bolt.  John will soon have given his life to prepare the way for the One who is coming.  So his question is urgent: Is Jesus really the one, or are we to wait for another?  John does not have time for the patience described in the reading from James this morning.  John might be an example of suffering, but he has no time for patience.

          John thought he knew what he was waiting for.  John sends his disciples to question Jesus because Jesus does not appear to be the one whose sandals John is not worthy to carry.  John would like a “yes” or “no” answer to his question.  But what does Jesus say to John’s disciples?  He says “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.”  On the one hand, this is a terribly unsatisfactory answer for John.  But on the other hand, the answer is clear.  Our reading from Isaiah begins with vengeance and terrible recompense.  John was correct to be looking for someone coming to burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.  But Isaiah goes on to say “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.”  Jesus happened to be a bit heavier on opening eyes and unstopping ears than John anticipated. 

Advent is a season of preparation.  John the Baptist was absolutely correct about that.  But here’s the catch.  I don’t know about you, but I prefer to prepare for what or who I know is coming.  If I am preparing a meal, I want to prepare specific food for a definite number of people and know how I will serve them.  I want to be ready.  But Advent is not about be ready for what we know.  Advent is about preparing for mystery and surprise.  How do we prepare for mystery and surprise? The reading from James offers some suggestions.  Patience is one of them.  But James also tells us to strengthen our hearts, and to not grumble against one another, but to practice love.  Advent is about practicing patience, preparing our hearts, and being people of love.

We do not know when or how Jesus will appear among us.  We do not know where we might find Jesus or what claim Jesus may put on our lives.  If we think we know, and prepare only for that, we may miss what God is up to in the world.  John the Baptist was sure about the One who is to come, and when Jesus didn’t quite meet John’s expectations, John wondered “Are you the One to come or shall we wait for another?”  Jesus doesn’t always meet our expectations, either, I would imagine, and our loved ones do not experience the healing we want for them, or relationships remain broken, or the hungry and thirsty remain hungry and thirsty.  And we ask “Are you the One who is to come or shall we wait for another?”  To which Jesus says “Stop assuming you know what I will do.  Open your eyes and see what I am actually doing in your midst.”  See where the Kingdom of God is breaking through, where goodness triumphs over evil, love conquers hate, and life is bigger than death.  Practice patience, prepare our hearts, and be people of love. Then, when we find Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve, as expected and promised, we will know that the manger is just the beginning of the mystery and surprise of the gospel.

                                                                   Amen.