Sacred Season, Hope

First Week of Advent

Matthew 11:2-6

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 offence at me.’

 

All John can see are the cold stone walls of his prison cell.

He is a well-educated man. Both of John’s parents were righteous before the Lord, his father was a priest in the Temple. He can read the signs for the coming world. He gave up comfort and privilege to live in the desert and prepare the way for the soon expected Messiah. He understood the scriptures and recited the prophets. He saw signs and wonders and baptized the man he believed would save the world.

But now all he can see are the cold stone walls of his prison cell.

And so, he sends a message to Jesus, “Tell me I didn’t get it wrong. Tell me you’re the one I’ve been waiting for. Because all I can see are these cold stone walls and I need some hope right now.”

And Jesus responds, “I’ll tell you what I see out here. The sick are healed, the forgotten are recovered, the poor are relieved. There is hope all around me.”

Being a prophet is a sacred calling. Few people are true prophets. To be a prophet you must be able to read signs and speak truths no one wants to see or hear. Prophets have been burned as witches, shot at protests, and beheaded in cold stone cells. Prophets are often on the outside looking in for signs of hope.

False prophets get distracted looking more for signs than for hope. They memorize the prophecies and cloud their eyes with envisioned fulfillments. They say to themselves, “This is what God looks like, this is how I will know the Messiah.” They look for signs and fulfillments and doomsday indications, but never look for hope.

If you are looking for the Messiah, the Savior of People, look for people who are being saved. That is what Jesus says to John. He doesn’t send back a list of philosophical responses, or a resume of fulfilled prophecies. He says, “Look, the people around me have hope.”

These are dark days to be a prophet. The planet is on fire, our democracy is in crisis. Refugees are drowning as they search for safety. Children are gunned down in schools. Many prophets are staring at cold stone walls in their mind, walls made of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness.

Not everyone is a prophet. But many people have a prophet in their lives. A voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. A voice, sobbing in the dark, when will the Lord come.  Prophets write and protest and pray, prophesying into existence a better future.

“Go, tell John what you see and hear.”

Go. Tell the prophets signs of hope. Tell them about the increasing destigmatization of mental illness. Tell them about the helpful conversations about race that are happening around kitchen tables. Tell them about the survivors of sexual assault who are being believed for the first time. Tell them about the families reunited at the border. Tell them that their words were heard, and their protests seen, and their prayers felt. Tell them that they didn’t get it wrong, that there is hope.

Go tell John what you see and hear.