3 Advent

Jesus Is Not A Warrior King, But He Is Also Not Santa Claus

John, in today’s gospel, sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he is “the one,” the messiah. Perhaps that seems strange to us because John baptized Jesus after balking, saying Jesus should be the one to baptize him. The reason for John’s question is Jesus has not lived up to be the kind of messiah John expected, or that anyone of the time expected. The Jews of Jesus’ time expected a warrior king like David; one who would cause fear and trembling, delivering terrible justice. Instead, Jesus heals the blind, the deaf and raises the dead.

But Jesus and God aren’t Santa Claus either. We can’t help but ask the question: why doesn’t God rescue John from prison and allow him, instead, to be decapitated? Why do we suffer today in so many ways? That is the mystery we all must struggle with in this Advent season. We know, as does John, that Jesus is the messiah because of the miracles he does. Yet we wonder why our personal wishes aren’t granted and, instead, we are called to learn to love all in the world, putting the other before the self. These are hard questions that I certainly don’t have the answers for, yet I try to sit with them in this time of anticipation.

Blessings as you try to do the same,

The Rev. M.E.+