What Kind of Messiah?

Wow!! Has been awhile since I posted one of these. Mondays seem so busy and I guess I never really got into the habit of adding a devotional to my routine. As we are in the Advent season, it seems that many people are preparing much more for a holiday than a holy day. I think that certainly skews the meaning, intention, joy and peace of the season. The following piece is a meditation on our bulletin insert for the 3rd Sunday of Advent. I think it is good to stop and consider the One for whom we wait and what it is we are expecting this Advent season. For if we are awaiting the coming of a child and expecting something miraculous to happen on Christmas Eve or day, we are likely to end the season with a profound sense of disappointment and sadness. Maybe a reminder of the One for whom we wait and what we are waiting for will help us experience all this holy day has to offer.

The meditation is in response to a reading from the 11th chapter of Matthew: When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: 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. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

The meditation reads: Here we are in the middle of Advent, and our lives are rolling along toward Christmas, just about the way we would expect. Shopping, baking, parties, greeting cards. We are preparing to see family members, bracing for those crazy relatives we can't avoid! We expect the arrival of a cuddly baby in the manger once again. And then Christmas is done.

But today we are startled to hear words from prison. It's John again, this time asking Jesus an unexpected question: "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" The insecurity in this question from John is shocking. John had been in the desert preaching fire and judgment with conviction. He had been certain that the coming messiah would give the bad guys their due reward and protect the good guys. But now there is doubt: Are you really the one, Jesus?

Jesus is not at all what John had in mind. He socializes with the wrong crowd, and touches the wrong people. He doesn't have a powerful weapon to cut down people, nor does He frighten them into submission. Jesus disappoints John--and so many others--who have anticipated a Messiah armed with military power or military savvy.

What kind of Messiah are we expecting this Advent? The gospel writer Matthew consistently shows Jesus as the crucified Messiah, and says to us: listen and look for Him. Look for surprising marks of healing, restoring, resurrecting, and there you will find God's Chosen One. Listen for grace in the midst of your own poverty and despair. Look for new life that arises out of your soul-searching questions and doubts.

This Advent the Messiah is indeed coming to us, but not in the way we expect. This one fills our bleak deserts with life-giving water, pries open our blind eyes, unstops our deaf ears. Listen and look for the Crucified and Risen One.