Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

Collect of Advent Wednesday 3

Lectionary: 189

John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 

 

Tomorrow, Advent will lead us deeper into the mystery of Christmas as we hear the opening verses of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, the genealogy of Jesus. The Season will bear a different complexion as we move from penance to solemn expectation.

It’s appropriate that we should hear the voice of John the Baptist today. He is sending two of his disciples to Jesus with an important question. In Saint John’s narrative, the Baptist knows perfectly well the identity and mission of Jesus; in Saint Luke’s account he is uncertain and anxious. He has heard of Jesus, of his teachings and healings; and he is as eager as everyone else for the coming of the Messiah. But he is not certain if Jesus is “the one who is to come.”

John is an honest man and guided by the Holy Spirit. He lives in a world of cabals and conspiracies, but he doesn’t play those games. There is no need to be cagey, to beat around the bush, to pose a sophisticated set of questions about Jesus’s politics, religious opinions, or credentials. John knows his own mission and identity, and has said very clearly to anyone who asked, “I am not the Messiah.” He approaches Jesus with the same frank simplicity, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”

As we leave the John-the-Baptist phase of Advent and enter the Mary-the-Mother-of-God octave before Christmas, John’s speaks for you and me. These many centuries later, we still ask and want to know the answer to his question. We look at Jesus with the same hopeful, fearful expectation. 

We should not suppose we already know the answer and have other, more important business to attend; for there is nothing more urgent, pressing or important than our salvation. 

 

We have some vague ideas of what our salvation must require. It cannot come from no where, on high, outer space or out of left field. We will not have an intruder invading our affairs and telling us how we should live or what we should feel. If the Messiah is not one of us we have nothing to do with him. He must know our anquish, distress, and helplessness; and not merely know about it. He must want what we want even as he offers it to us. But, if he is one of us, he must also have what we do not have, the authority to save us. He must be entirely human and absolutely divine. 

A non-human god cannot save us from ourselves though he might restore us to Eden or place us in Paradise. Transported to a mystical fantasy island we would remain the same people. "Wherever you go, there you are." There is no geographical cure for what I am. Nor will I be enslaved in some perfect place, with all my needs, hurts, and desires anesthetized into passivity. I do not require more entertainment, busy work, pleasures, or pastimes. 

Nor can a man without authority address my helplessness. I have listened to every opinion and tried every advice; and they always come down to what I should do. I cannot do it. There is no technique, technology, or formula for salvation. 

Representing you and me, John has asked, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 

The Lord's response, 

“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard:

the blind regain their sight,

the lame walk,

lepers are cleansed,

the deaf hear, the dead are raised,

the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. 

And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

As we enter the octave before Christmas with its selection of Nativity narratives from Matthew and Luke, we ask the Lord to help us see, hear, and feel his presence among us. We ask God to teach us to accept Salvation on His terms, and not our own.