Message 02.16.25 Rick
Anti-Apartheid activist Nelson Mandella spent 27 years in a South African prison where his cell was so small he could not lie down and fully stretch out his legs. The rules for black inmates were very different than for white inmates. Mandella, for most of his imprisonment, could only write one 500 word letter every six months, which would be censured by guards. His letters vulnerably revealed his state of mind and heart, his frequent anxiety and depression, his hopelessness, and his mistreatment as well as the mistreatment of his fellow prisoners. Following release, Mandela had plenty of reasons to hate his captors, to carry bitterness toward an unjust system, to view violence as the only answer for his people. Yet, he chose to release those things and instead to live a life in peace, love, and respect.
I cannot identify with Mandella’s 27 years spent in prison cell, but we all can identify with the struggles of anxiety, depression, isolation, anger, bitterness, resentment, regrets, and hopelessness. And, along with John the Baptizer, we can all understand and empathize with the moments of doubt – doubting our path, our worth, our personhood, our choices, our faith.
I think that is one of the reasons our passage about John the baptizer is so confusing and relatable at the same time. As one of our challenge responses pointed out – ‘This passage has so much in it and so much to unpack. So many emotions and meanings involved.’
Our problem with the passage is our unrealistic expectations that heroes must be without flaws, and we hold to a false belief that struggles such as doubt, fear, anxiety, and depression are evidence of a flawed person.
We are generally troubled by John, the beast of the wilderness, being hopelessness and in despair. We bristle at John’s tone of disappointment as he asks Jesus, “Are you the one or should we keep looking?”
“Are you the promised deliverer, as I proclaimed, or was I wrong, did I misunderstand God’s calling?”
John’s disciples, mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted, arrived in time to witness Jesus cure many people of diseases, afflictions, evil spirits, and he gave sight to many who were blind.
When the two men approached Jesus they said, “John sent us to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?”
Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight; the lame walk; lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are raised; and the poor hear the good news.”
Jesus’ response is for the men to report to John what they witnessed. Jesus does not give them a theological reminder of the prophecies, he does not criticize John the baptizer for his weakened faith, nor does he reprimand John for expressing doubt in front of his disciples. No, Jesus showed them what to tell John. ‘Tell John what YOU just experienced.’
John needed to take inventory of his own experiences. He, in the darkness of his prison cell, had forgotten about the light of truth, he had forgotten his metaphoric scraps of paper that held reminders of his own moments where God was near and real.
In our own inner darkness we cannot see, but, in the light of our experiences and the experiences of others, there is light.
This moment of doubt, and even despair, was a call to John to remember his hope. John needed to check back in with Jesus and presumably, the experience of these followers served to remind him of his own faith.
Before we go any further let’s look at John’s reality. John has been imprisoned since Jesus’ baptism because he continued to do his job, to speak truth, in a time with a King who would not listen to truth. In today’s passage we find things have not changed. King Herod Antiapas is still the King and his new queen hates John even more than the King. John will never again experience earthly physical freedom, he will never again feel the warmth of the sun – it will not be long until he is beheaded. There will be no fantasy earthly resolution to John’s pain. And, again let’s be honest, it is possible that this experience does not change John’s inner struggle.
[Message Slide] All of this is often a version of our reality as well. And, sometimes this is also our outcome. And, always, God continues to love us unconditionally.
After John’s death Jesus withdrew and went to a place of solitude in the midst of his own despair and grief. Hear that, even Jesus experienced our same internal struggles – the same struggles you may be experiencing today, right now.
What did Jesus do for John? He sent messengers to report what they saw. Jesus lovingly challenges John to examine his expectations of Jesus. Possibly John is asking Jesus to wake up and do what John expects of him. John could not help but dwell on the fact that the prophet Isaiah, as well as Jesus, had said about the coming Messiah,
[Message Passage Slide] “God will send/has sent the Messiah to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Remember, John was still in prison and John’s people were still living in oppression. There had been no release, no one experienced freedom, oppression was still a hard reality just as it had been for centuries. Is it possible that John’s despair had turned into resentment towards Jesus, and now his flawed expectations added to the weight he was carrying. But, again, it did not change how God loved John.
Jesus was challenging John to take an honest look at his expectations. Did he have an unholy timeline? Was his focus centered inward rather than outward? Had Jesus’ ministry of compassion and mercy become unbearable for John hoped for his own release?
One of our challenge responders said, ‘It is easy to get so down and disappointed that we shut off our ability to go with our faith, to look for God. We become numb to God’s presence.’
God challenges us to remember times we were aware of God’s presence. To consider those times when God was at work in others. He challenges us to look beyond ourself to see God.
Recently Andrea, and her co-workers, had a challenging week. I only had a guarded description of the challenges and it occurred to me that they were doing Holy Work. They were saving lives, they were striving to make the futures better, and sowing love. In the midst of this frequently attacked institution, God was present just as God is present in the work many of you do. This small recognition affirmed, for me, God’s presence.
Sometimes we have to look beyond our reminder of our own affirmations of God’s presence. Sometimes, in our darkness, we need help even finding our treasure chest. Sometimes we need help beyond what we can do for ourself. Sometimes we need to allow therapy, meditation, a healthy trusted other, exercise, a visit to the doctor, listening & considering advise of our doctor, and other assists to find our treasure chest, to get unstuck.
After John’s disciples left, Jesus went to the crowd and began to question their expectations and how wrong expectations could cause them to miss the presence of God and lose hope. Jesus asked the crowds, ‘Why did you go to John?’ and ‘Why did you come to me?’
One of our challenge responders summed up what Jesus was asking through 3 points.
- Doubts are a reality in faith. Hard times often make us question why God isn’t stepping in and “fixing” our problems. But maybe what we expect is not God’s plan. Maybe we just have to accept that it is sometimes hard to live by faith.
- Flawed human nature demands proof to sustain faith. Do we have to see miracles, or, can we have faith like a child? Can we pay attention, all times, to see Holy Moments? Can we look for those moments even the the boring and mundane moments of our day?
- Faith requires us to not judge a book by its cover. What do we think faith looks like? Jesus and John were not fancy prophets. They were simple, reaching out to anyone that would listen. We must recognize the simplest acts of God in order to release our faith to grow.
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall.”
Mahatma Gandhi
[Message Slides x2]
I close with the words of encouragement from Bishop Desmond Tutu,
“We all experience sadness, we all come at times to despair, and we all lose hope that the suffering in our lives and in the world will never end. I want to share with you my faith and my understanding that this suffering can be transformed and redeemed.
There is no such thing as a totally hopeless case. Our God is an expert at dealing with chaos, with brokenness, with all the worst that we can imagine. God created order out of disorder, cosmos out of chaos, and God can do so always, God can do so now–in our personal lives and in our lives as nations, globally. … Indeed, God is transforming the world now–through us–because God loves us.”
Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time
Order, Words, & Voices 