Isaiah
35: 1–10 / Psalm 146: 1–9 / James 5: 7–10 / Matthew 11: 2–11
This
is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker
on Sunday, December 15, 2019.
“THE ONE, ESSENTIAL AND
MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION”
(Homily text: Matthew 11: 2–11)
In this morning’s appointed Gospel
text, John the Baptist asks the one, essential and most important question that
he – and we – can ask: “Are you the one, or should we be looking for another?”
Of course, we know from Matthew’s text
that John asks this question of Jesus.
At first glance, John’s question might
seem a bit odd, maybe even unusual. After all, earlier in Matthew’s Gospel
account, we learn that Jesus had come to be baptized by John. But John objects,
saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14). However,
Jesus insists, and is baptized by John. John seems to sense that there is
something quite unique about Jesus, quite powerful, perhaps. A bit earlier,
John had said that there was one coming after him, whose sandals he was
unworthy to untie. (Matthew 3:11)
It’s possible that John’s
understanding of Jesus’ nature and Jesus’ identity is incomplete. After all, in
sending Jesus to come among us, God was doing something radically new,
something that hadn’t happened before in human experience and history. John
wasn’t alone in his questioning….Jesus’ own disciples often failed to
understand and grasp just what God was doing, at least before the events of
Good Friday, Easter morning, the Lord’s Ascension and Pentecost took place.
Now, as we look again at John’s
question, it’s possible that we can see three things at work:
·
John’s
pondering and wondering
·
His
question to the Lord
·
The
Lord’s response
We’ve looked at the first two parts of
this sequence. Now, let’s turn our attention to Jesus’ response.
As is quite often the case, Jesus
doesn’t offer a straightforward answer. Instead, He points to the things that
are being done through Him: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are healed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive good news.
On the surface, this list is a summary
of what Jesus has been doing, and it reflects Matthew’s record of those deeds.
But on a deeper level, most of Jesus’
list has to do with God’s power to create and to re-create. Put another way,
God’s power is – in its most fundamental understanding – the power to make
things, and to make them new again. It is that power of God that is at work in
Jesus.
We would do well to return to the
sequence of things as John’s mind seeks an answer to the question, “Are you the
one?” For, I think, the sequence in John’s mind is the sequence that you and I
face in our quest to understand God, to come to know God, and to come into an
intimate, enduring and powerful relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
First of all, we share – or ought to
share – with John an inquiring mind and spirit. No relationship with God can
really begin unless we have that thirst after God. And, while we’re pondering
this truth, we ought to admit that – absent the Holy Spirit’s presence – we are
unable even to begin the quest.
But, as we begin to walk the road of
understanding, we must also admit that we don’t know all there is to know about
God and God’s nature and ways. We know some things, to be sure, but we cannot,
this side of heaven, know it all. The question then becomes: Can we learn and
know enough? Yes, would be the answer.
Secondly, John asks the question: “Are
you the one we’ve been waiting for, or do we seek another?” That question, we,
too, must ask. We can recast the question like this: “Enlighten us about who
you are, and about your ways and your will.” After all, we are in a slightly
different position that John was, for we have the witness of Jesus’ ministry,
His death, His resurrection, His ascension. We have all of these things.
Moreover, we have the thrust of Christian history to inform us, as we examine
the lives of the Apostles and the saints down through the ages who have
demonstrated God’s power in their lives.
Then, finally, we must become
comfortable with God’s answer. Oftentimes, the answers that God provides in
response to our questions isn’t straightforward. Perhaps that’s because God
wants us to do our part to seek His truth, I don’t know. But, instead, what God
will offer us is proof of His workings in our lives in and in the lives of
others. The proof, then, is there, but we will have to look for it.
Welcome, then, to the questioning, the
Lord’s response, and to our search for the truth of the Lord’s answer.
AMEN.
