“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” Matthew 11: 2-11
The Latin word Gaudete means “Rejoice”! In the past, this third Sunday of Advent was called Gaudete Sunday because the first word on the entrance antiphon at the Sunday Eucharist is “Rejoice” (Gaudete). Given all the bleakness of the violence, war-mongering and injustice raging in our world, we might find ourselves asking just what there is to celebrate. But today’s readings imply that God really is present in everything that promotes and contributes to our freedom, our social cohesion and the life-giving relationships that build us up. The readings call us to open our eyes and to see that, by coming among us in the person of Jesus, God has offered us someone whose guidance, message, inspiration, life and death promise to transform ourselves and our world. The more we imitate Jesus in the manner in which he reached out to us and our world, the more we will appreciate that we are encountering God. We will not find ourselves needing to struggle with the question which John the Baptist, locked up in prison, commissioned his disciples to put to Jesus: “Are you really the one who is to come or are we to wait for someone else?” (Matthew 11: 3)
John the Baptist had sent his disciples to Jesus with that question because, as we heard in last Sunday’s gospel-reading, he had proclaimed how the Messiah, who was about to come, would rid the Jewish people of their non-productive members; he would come wielding an axe to destroy all who contributed nothing to the common good; he would cleanse society of its worthless members as a farmer separates wheat from chaff. That was a message to shake those who came to hear John out of their mediocrity and complacency. Jesus’ style of engaging with people was vastly different from John’s, so different that John was beginning to doubt his own judgement of identifying Jesus as the Messiah. So, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the genuine article. When those disciples actually put his question to Jesus the only answer Jesus gave them was: “My actions are testimony to who I am! Tell John that people who are coming to me with all kinds of problems illnesses and distress are experiencing healing of mind and body?”
Effectively, Jesus was stating that what he was ushering in was so new that the old style of prophesying was no longer relevant. He was not dismissing or belittling John the Baptist and his mission. He was asserting that even the least likely person to accept the new message he was proclaiming and to identify with the kingdom of God would have an invaluable role in transforming the world. That is an extraordinary affirmation of all who, in faith, commit themselves to living the message Jesus proclaimed and walking faithfully in his footsteps.
The consequence of Jesus’ words to John’s disciples was the demolition of all the grandiose expectations of a Messiah who would drive away the Roman occupiers from the land of Israel and restore power, status and prestige to Israel’s religious and political leaders. A kingdom called the kingdom of God, a kingdom that favours the poor, the depressed, the halt and the lame and aims to lift them from oppression and to restore their dignity is not likely to win the approval of those bent on power and prestige. A Messiah whose prospectus was designed to proclaim and usher in that kind of kingdom would hardly appeal to those whose expectations were for one who would restore political power, status and might to a nation intent on being regarded as a threat to its neighbours.
Both John and Jesus had visions for a better world. Those visions resonated with one another. What seems to have disquieted John was that Jesus had launched into initiating his vision. Moreover, Jesus told John’s disciples that they could see with their own eyes signs that indicated that his (Jesus’) vision was catching on. And let’s not forget that John’s view of the world was limited by the fact that it was from inside the walls of a prison. Doesn’t the world look different from behind bars, different from how it is seen by one who is free?
While Jesus gave John an accolade that is truly memorable and worthy of what John had achieved, he also realised that he had to get on with what he had started. There was no scope for delay.
Therein is a lesson for all of us. As Christians and followers of Jesus, we all have a responsibility for contributing to the ongoing building and spread of the kingdom of God. We all have different gifts and different leadership roles and responsibilities, but we don’t hold the baton of leadership forever. We all are entrusted with holding and sharing the vision of Jesus and his leadership. We also have to know when we have had our day. We live in a world and a community we call Church, both of which have their faults and limitations. We also have a responsibility to identify in others signs that fit them to take on leadership and a responsibility to discern how best to encourage them. In his letter to Timothy, Paul wrote about the need to fan the faith of those around us. Fanning their leadership potential is equally important.