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
Hallelujah! 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.”
The Succession
The HBO TV show “Succession” is a satire about a wealthy media empire, whose patriarchal mogul is aging. Those vying to succeed him in the business, offer varied and conflicting ideas about how the companies should be run, but their tempestuous leader has no current intention of passing the baton. The dark comedy portrays the power, wealth, and often underhanded “politics” of one of America’s elite media monopolies.
If the television version of “succession” portrays the worst of human nature, then the situation in our gospel reading for today, shows us the best –an alternative kind of culture in which respectful succession is part of the counter-cultural kingdom image that Jesus wants to depict. The Advent season begins with John the Baptist who emerges from the wilderness, where presumably he has been raised, educated, and trained in an ascetic tradition, either that of, or in a similar manner to that, of the Essenes.
According to Christianity Today, the Essenes were an almost forgotten Jewish sect until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1940s and 50s. This religious alliance was a small, separatist group that grew out of the conflicts of the Maccabean age. Like the Pharisees, they stressed strict legal observance to Jewish law, but they considered the temple priesthood corrupt, which helps to explain John’s reaction to the religious leaders who came to him to be baptized. Additionally, they rejected much of the temple ritual and sacrificial system. Oddly, the Essenes aren’t directly mentioned in the Bible.
What we do know about the Essenes comes from Apocryphal texts and other ancient writers like Philo of Alexandria, Josephus, and Pliny the Elder. Because of this lack of documentation, the precise nature of the Essenes is still unclear, though it is generally agreed that the Qumran community that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls was an Essene group. Pliny numbered the group at around 4,000 men.
The name Essenes wasn’t a name chosen by the group itself, but rather assigned by scholars and writers. The Qumran community referred to themselves as “Sons of Zadok,” “Men of the Community,” “Members of the Covenant,” “Sons of Light,” etc. The root meaning of Essenes is debated to mean either “The Modest Ones,” “The Silent Ones,” or perhaps “pious.” Still, little is known of their origins or of their eventual fade into history.
What we do know is that they were convinced that they were the true remnant, and as such they separated themselves from Judaism at large and devoted themselves to personal purity and preparation for the final war between the “Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness.” They practiced an apocalyptic faith, looking back to the contributions of their “Teacher of Righteousness” and forward to the coming of two, and possibly three, Messiahs. It appears that the destruction of the temple, in A.D. 70, seems to have delivered a death blow to their apocalyptic expectations.
Over the centuries, attempts have been made to equate aspects of the beliefs of the Qumran community with the origins of Christianity. Some have seen a prototype of Jesus in their “Teacher of Righteousness,” and both John the Baptist and Jesus have been assigned membership in the sect. There is, however, only a superficial and hypothetical base for these conjectures, yet speculation still exists that John the Baptist, because of what we read in Matthew’s gospel, was a member of this sect. This claim can also be argued in the affirmative, because John’s message, as a prophetic voice, was one calling for repentance, a turning back toward God, humbly, and relationally. His vehicle was baptism with water, a kind of cleansing and renewing of the spirit in preparation for a messianic appearance. It’s into this scene that Jesus appears before His cousin at the river Jordan.
As we will later read, after Jesus is baptized by John, the Spirit of God drives Him into the desert for 40 days and nights, where He is tempted, tested, and prepared to undertake His three-year mission of ushering in the kingdom of God, of His death on the Cross, His resurrection and of His return to the Father. When Jesus emerges from the desert, He begins to call, mentor, teach, and empower His disciples, and initially His proclamation echoes that of John the Baptist’s call for repentance. Soon after Jesus begins His public ministry, John is arrested by Herod, while Jesus moves to Capernaum and begins expanding His mission with miracles, healing, and proclamation, slowly revealing His true identity as the long-awaited Messiah.
From the gospel records, we read that Jesus called at least two of John the Baptist’s disciples, the first was Philip who went and found his brother Nathaniel and both became followers of Jesus. Additionally, we also know that some of John’s other disciples also began to follow Jesus. As expected, many remained loyal to John, as John and they tentatively question the way Jesus is pursuing the messianic mission.
John, based on his message, was an apocalyptic prophet. He didn’t know exactly what to expect in the coming messiah, of God’s means of redemption, or the outcome. But as a man of his time and training, he had his assumptions. Like Jesus’ disciples, he appears at times to question Jesus’ methods. He doesn’t quite understand Jesus’ definition of messiah or His unique method of leading humanity toward redemption. To John, and to everyone else Jesus will meet, Jesus will be a surprise, an odd mystery of a man, who seems to go against the grain and every expectation anyone has of Him.
John, now trapped within prison walls, can no longer lead his disciples. At this point John doesn’t fully comprehend that His message has been delivered; that his part of the mission is now complete. The long-expected Messiah, in the person of Jesus, has appeared and has begun to carry on the mission, both of John and His own. John’s ultimate question in our gospel reading for today was, to whom exactly has he passed the missional baton? He wasn’t entirely sure.
When John sends word, through his own disciples, questioning Jesus, he wanted to be sure he has proclaimed and blessed the “right” candidate. To his questions, Jesus sends word back using the messianic, prophetic scripture in Isaiah; the same prophetic words He will declare as His mission statement in the synagogue in Nazareth; the same message quoted by Elizabeth, Hannah, and Mary before him: “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” (Isaiah 35:5-6). But Jesus doesn’t merely answer with scripture, He tells John’s disciples to relay this: “Go and tell John what you hear and see.”
God’s mission didn’t rest solely in Jesus’ in proclamation. Jesus, throughout His ministry, enacted the entirety of the messianic mission. He didn’t limit His mission to proclamation only, He also went about healing, cleansing, raising, and bringing the good news of God’s Jubilee salvation to all of God’s people. He wanted John’s disciples to see it, hear it, know it personally, and experience it all first-hand. And then almost humorously in a sense, Jesus adds: “And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” This also includes His cousin John.
Jesus knows that the passing of succession from messenger to messiah is vital. John the Baptist knows how important it is for everyone to recognize Jesus as the receiver of that sacred scepter. Jesus needs the continued support of John and John’s supporters in order to solidify Himself as the one that John pointed to as messiah and savior. He must be recognized as the “rightful heir” of the messianic crown. Jesus then, in a hugely savvy move, begins to praise John.
What better way to ensure His role as successor than to lift up His messenger and proclaimer! John had been hugely well-respected. Now Jesus joins in and lauds his ministry and John as an outstanding prophet and holy man! He also declares John the “one about whom it is written: ‘See I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’” Then Jesus says these seemingly cryptic words: “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.”
Consider Jesus’ statement here: Jesus declares John the most amazing human being who ever lived. His message and character were flawless, and as such, were completely trustworthy. To this, Jesus defines Himself clearly as John’s missional successor. In doing this, Jesus initiates the messianic prophecy. Everyone who now becomes part of God’s kingdom, through following Jesus, will receive such an amazing gift that it will eclipse anything even John has accomplished! It’s quite a succession speech! Jesus, both compares Himself and individuates Himself from John, even as He claims His “rightful” messianic lineage.
Later, Jesus will declare Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled in the synagogue in Nazareth, a speech that nearly got him killed prematurely. But God will do in God’s time what God has planned. Jesus’ mission will be fulfilled in three years’ time. The power of Jesus’ inaugural message propels Jesus into a mission that will begin in Capernaum, which is the cultural hub of Galilee of the Gentiles, and will end in Jerusalem, the center of the Jewish faith. Then, in Jesus’ post resurrection appearances, Jesus passed that baton to Peter, the rock upon which the “Way” of Jesus, the church, would be founded. From that time on, every disciple would be part of the growing movement.
We too have a succession to follow. Over the past three weeks, our New Testament readings have warned us of the impending return of Jesus. However, we’ve also been encouraged to be patient in this in between time. St. James, in our epistle reading, three times, tells us to be patient. However, the patience he’s talking about isn’t idleness. He uses the example of the farmer who patiently waits for each phase of the tilling, planting, growing, and harvesting phases to be complete, before moving on to the next. What we need to do is consider these in between times.
In between each part of the growing process, the farmer is always busy preparing for the next phase. After tilling, the farmer prepares the equipment and procures the seed, so he’s ready when the time is right to plant. After planning, the farmer then does what’s needed to protect the crop, like removing the weeds, fertilizing, keeping the fences and the edges of the fields in good order. The farmer also makes sure the harvesting equipment is fully operational so that when the time is right to harvest, he’s ready. The life of the farmer isn’t one of idleness, but one of constant preparation for what comes next, and the same is true for us in this, the in between time.
Jesus has promised to return without warning, and we cannot be found idle when He returns. Each generation of disciples, who have been baptized, have been empowered by the Holy Spirit with the mission to pass on Jesus’ message of salvation to every person of their generation, to ensure that, when Jesus does return, we’re not found standing idle in the marketplace, but found busy doing the business of God’s kingdom. The mission and the message of God’s love and mercy cannot die from one generation to the next.
The question of Advent, given through the church and through all of Jesus’ faithful followers is, will you be part of that succession? Will you be part of the long line of disciples who refuse to be idle, and who are willing to take up the mission and ministry of the church to share God’s message of love and salvation to the world? Jesus tells us plainly as He prepared to send out the 72, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest (Luke 10:2).
Amen