The gospel text for this Sunday strikes me as strange.
Jesus has been healing the blind, deaf, sick, and paralyzed. He has cured leprosy. He has cast out demons. He has been preaching good news to the poor, teaching, and collecting followers. He has raised a girl from death.
Aside from that weirdness, here’s what I find even stranger:
While in prison, John the Baptist hears rumors all of this activity, so he asks his disciples to go to Jesus and conduct a little interview: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
What?!
The Gospel of Matthew featured John in chapter 3, preaching his heart out in the wilderness of Judea. He had been proclaiming with confidence that the kingdom of heaven had drawn near. He was baptizing people in the Jordan and pointing to a more powerful one who would come and baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. He himself had baptized Jesus.
I find it strange that John didn’t know if Jesus was “the one” or not! I’d like to think that the prophet who did all that bold proclaiming, prophesying, and baptizing in the middle of nowhere knew what he was talking about…but apparently not. Apparently, when Jesus appeared on the scene and started doing what he was doing, John was just as surprised as everybody else.
In other words, he had been paving the way for one he didn’t recognize.
I find it strange….and exciting.
Each Advent, we prepare for one whom we do not know. We prepare for one who is peace, might, justice, and love, but when that one comes, we find ourselves surprised by the majesty and magnitude of God’s grace. We discover love more compassionate than we thought, peace more profound, might gentler, and justice less violent.
Each Advent, we prepare to receive one bigger than our imagination, more merciful than our wildest dream, more benevolent than our hope. We prepare to receive one who draws near yet remains shrouded in mystery. We attempt the impossible: to prepare for awe.
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