First Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10
1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. 3Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” 5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 9No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. 10And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Psalm 146
1Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 2Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, for there is no help in them. 3When they breathe their last, they return to earth, and in that day their thoughts perish. 4Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! whose hope is in the Lord their God; 5Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; who keeps his promise forever; 6Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger. 7The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; 8The Lord loves the righteous; the Lord cares for the stranger; he sustains the orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked. 9The Lord shall reign forever, your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah!
Second Reading: James 5:7-11
7Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Gospel: Matthew 11:2-15
2When John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 7As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
God’s Messenger
One of the things I find interesting is that the older I get, the less tolerant I am of messing with holiday traditions. As far as I’m concerned, some things, trivial as they are, are not meant to be trifled with. A couple of years ago, Peanuts specials like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and A Charlie Brown Christmas were purchased by one of those special platforms and would no longer be broadcast on network television. This sent a shock wave through the Facebook community.
Even though the tradition of families gathering on broadcast night and watching these specials together are mostly a thing of the past, it seems that once the shows weren’t available, it suddenly became one of the worst things in the world. The outrage went viral, so much so that a compromise was made, and the shows in question were released for public broadcast at least once during the proper season. Out of curiosity, I wonder how many people actually watched, since the ones who were most vocal probably own a Blu-Ray, DVD, or an obsolete VHS copy of these shows.
Christmas is just around the corner, and for most, their holiday plans are set. Christmas concerts are in full swing and you can’t go anywhere without hearing Christmas music. All this puts me in the mood to preach about angels, glory to God in the highest, peace among people of good will, and away in the manger, no crib for a bed — stuff like that. But the readings assigned for this 3rd Sunday of Advent feature Jesus talking about John the Baptist — not the birth of John the Baptist from Luke 1, but jumping way ahead to John in prison before the daughter of Herodias asks for his head on a platter. Passages like this do not add to the holiday spirit, but they do, however, get to the heart of the promise, as does other passages from Isaiah the prophet, written centuries before, which Jesus quotes for this occasion.
So, for the moment, we need to clear the stage of the holy family, the cows, the sheep, the Magi and shepherds, and set up a different Biblical scene, one that features an adult Jesus standing and talking to the crowds. Suddenly the crowd parts. Some folks, who are caring for John the Baptist in prison, have come to ask Jesus, on John’s behalf, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
Considering that in other places John the Baptist was the one who proclaimed “Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world,” this might seem like an odd question, but perhaps John had expected this promised Messiah, who he had assured the crowds would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit, would have already turned the world upside down, established the kingdom of God, and begun His reign, His foot on the necks of the Roman authorities. But to date, nothing of the sort has happened.
I’m not sure if the question John asked was meant to be challenging, or just a request for information. I’m not sure how the crowd reacted. Maybe they were curious too. Regardless, Jesus treated the question from John as a priority, setting aside whatever He was talking about, and answered politely, “Go and tell John what you see and hear; 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.”
The question for us is, what was packed into Jesus’ reply? The answer is simple, scripture, a lot of scripture. These are verses of hope, verses of challenge, and words of promise. Jesus connected the dots, not only for John and the listeners, but for us as well, as we too wait and wonder during this season of Advent. Jesus’ reply drew upon the passages in Isaiah that pointed to the return of the exiles in Babylon to the Promised Land. Now, centuries later, these words were interpreted as pointing to the kingdom of God in their midst.
This promised deliverance wasn’t directed only at the strong, the survivors, the people of old, now, it’s promised to everyone. “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees,” wrote Isaiah. “Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.” And that God was coming with strength to not only restore the weak, but to take “vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come to save you” (Isaiah 35:3-4). It was in that context that “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” (Isaiah 35:5-6). This answer could be interpreted by John, and now to us, to mean both “Yes!” but also “Not yet!”
For those familiar with Revelation, St. John the Apostle, saw the skies peeled back to reveal the saints who suffered, who were also praising the Lamb bearing the marks of suffering with glory and honor, who know that the wheels of God’s justice are turning, and that all will be revealed, and this Yes! still challenges us. But for Jesus, His purpose wasn’t just to speak of the future, but also to praise John the Baptist for his work in preparing the way. It was with this in mind that Jesus turned to the people and told them about John.
Jesus quoted Isaiah 35:5-6 and 61:1 about how God will lead the ransomed back to the Promised Land. This journey of return and rejoicing is a message to the poor, sick, and struggling, that they too will rejoice. This is the hope upon which our season of Advent is built. Jesus also quoted Malachi 3:1: “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight — indeed, He is coming, says the Lord of hosts.”
These passages clearly speak of the one who goes before and prepares the way to instruct them about Jesus’ identity. And then Jesus adds one of the great paradoxes of the kingdom — the greatest is the least, the least is the greatest. The last is the first, the first is the last. In talking about John, Jesus is also talking about and inviting us to step onto this bare stage to take part in the great drama of salvation.
Anyone who has traveled I-70 through Kansas has seen seemingly endless “amber waves of grain,” and off in the distance Colorado’s “purple mountain majesties.” This is like the image of “a reed shaken by the wind,” used by Jesus in this passage. The shaken reed image would have been as familiar a sight to people not only in the Holy Land, but throughout the Middle East in that era, as those amber waves are to us. Reeds and rushes grew profusely along the riverbanks, and were harvested for use in sewing, in medicine, for thatching in homes, in bedding, among many other uses.
To be sure, Jesus isn’t suggesting that John the Baptist was anything at all like a pliable reed. Rather, he’s like Malachi, standing tall, strong, true, and mysterious, coming out of the chaos of the wilderness, to call the people back to faithful living while there’s still time. No, John the Baptist was no reed shaken by the wind. He told the people uncomfortable truths, he called it like it was, and that’s why he’s now in prison.
John stood up to the religious elite as well as to those in high public office. Herod Antipas, one of Herod’s sons, was good at murdering his own relatives if he suspected them of plotting against him. And wife stealing wasn’t above him either — he decided to marry Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. And Herodias was no pushover, she was a willing participant. Herodias was more than glad to switch husbands, because she was politically ambitious; she believed the Romans were more likely to favor her new husband Herod Antipas over Philip.
Regardless of the politics behind this marriage, John the Baptist denounced the marriage and quoted from Leviticus to say the marriage was wrong — a man was only to marry his brother’s wife should that brother die and leave no heir to claim his property. Furthermore, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, Herod and Herodias had planned this marriage long before in secret as part of their plan to advance their political fortunes. However, having such a popular figure as John the Baptist denounce them in public was more than an annoyance. John’s condemnation could turn the people against them, and that in turn might alarm the Romans who wanted, more than anything else, peace and quiet. So, Herod had John arrested, though as Matthew noted, “…Herod wanted to put him to death (but) he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet” (Matthew 14:5).
Even more interesting is that Herod visited John in prison to hear what he had to say, which he found compelling, even though John condemned him. Perhaps he was so tired of false flattery that any truth, even a condemning truth, was a welcome novelty. John told the truth. It wasn’t always a comfortable truth. But even Herod Antipas couldn’t turn away, even though the truths John announced alarmed him. Additionally, John didn’t dress according to the fashion. He dressed like Elijah, like Malachi, like those prophets of old who meant business. No, John was no reed shaken by the wind. He was an oak, standing firm against the storm’s blast. This reading also addresses us.
Our gospel lesson implies of us a question, in light of our witness, what are we? Are we reeds that shake against the wind, whatever direction it blows, or are we stalwart prophets who, as Malachi spoke about, have been tested and found to be pure? God is looking for people who will faithfully stand strong against the shifting winds of societal falsehoods and tell the truth, no matter how uncomfortable that truth may be. Today’s scripture centers around John’s question about who Jesus is, and Jesus’ statements about who John is, but we also need to consider — just who is Malachi? His name means both “my messenger” or “my angel.”
God’s messenger, like John, came to prepare the way before the day of the Lord. It’s a road that leads to a more satisfying relationship with God. It’s a road that will end well, because as it says in Malachi 3:4, once we get there, “… the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.” In that day, our good relationship with God will be restored.
It’s also a warning; the way John talks about involves a refiner’s fire, purification, and testing, but when we’ve gone through the refining, purification, and testing, which Jesus has shown we can endure, then we will be at peace with ourselves, and with God. Prophets like John followed the example of their predecessors, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, who wrote as the nation fell apart, as destruction loomed, as kings remained faithless and the people followed. Yet even as the prophets prophesied doom, they also foretold of restoration. The vulnerable, the weak, the struggling, all will be strengthened. This journey is for them, Isaiah said. But how will they know the way?
Years ago, there was a commercial about a product that was “so easy, even a caveman could do it.” The caveman, far more sophisticated than he was given credit for, was insulted. Isaiah said “…no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray” (Isaiah 35:8). We are insulted if the term is applied to us. But it’s used here to suggest that the road back from exile will be so easy, even we cannot get lost.
In our age of GPS and smart phones, we act as though it’s nearly impossible for us to get lost, but still, we do. This verse suggests that with God’s goodwill, those of us marching to Zion will get there, no matter how we insist we don’t need to ask for directions. Yet, in today’s uncertain world, many will ask, is there a road back to normalcy? Despite all appearances, Isaiah and Jesus were telling us the story isn’t over. There is a highway of return, which meant that the people had not hit the point of no return. This was God’s doing, not our own, hence the term “the ransomed of the Lord.” But the question is, who will lead the ransomed?
As I tell the kids from time to time, the answer is always Jesus. But the word in the Hebrew used in this passage is go’el, which sounds like something out of a Stargate episode. The Go’el, the redeemer in this case, is the guy in the family you go to, to get things done. It might be the uncle you go to for a load of gravel. It could be the one who knows a guy who knows a guy down at city hall. It’s the one who is the fixer, not because he’s dishonest, but because he’s the one who looks out for others. It might be the grandmother, or the aunt, or the cousin that people rely on. In the case of pointing others to Jesus, the Go’el is you, and it’s me.
Think of the dad in A Christmas Story, after the neighbor’s dogs eat the turkey and drag the carcass out onto the lawn, he said, “All right, everybody get dressed, we’re going out,” and they ended up eating Chinese food and having the best Christmas ever. We can bellyache about the lines at the mall, we can complain about the government, or we can be the change someone needs in their life, the lifeline to someone isolated and alone, the bag of groceries on the doorstep, or the card in the mail with a verse of scripture. The ransomed of the Lord will return, that’s the promise we cling to. It isn’t coming because of us, it’s coming because God loves us and wants to be with us.
We’re living in a time of hatred, of one group demonizing the other, where good people have decided that other good people are depraved. Today people are afraid of what will happen tomorrow, and people need to hear the words of hope that you and I have to share. In response to this uncertainty, we can no longer be reeds shaking in the wind, but prophets standing tall. Our call is to be a Go’el, the one others come to for the truth and the good news they need.
Amen.