Reflection for the 3rd Wednesday of Advent
“John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’ And Jesus said to them in reply, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.”‘ Lk 7:18-23
Are you the one, or should I look for another? In the gospel, it is a question that John the Baptist asked Jesus. John is in prison, so he sends two messengers with this question: “Are you the one, or should I look for another?”
How many times have I asked a similar question in my life? When I first met my wife we were together all of the time. I was falling in love. Then one day I realized that maybe marriage might be in my future. I would think of her and wonder, “Are you the one? Are you the one or should I look for another?” She was definitively the one, and after thirty eight years, she is still the one.
Outside of a relationship, the question comes up in other areas of life. Throughout my career, there have been job opportunities that have come to me. In each situation, I would ask, “Are you the one? Are you the job I’ve that will give me joy and satisfaction, or should I look for another?”
The same question could be asked when facing various medical treatments. I know a man who has a rare form of cancer. The doctors continue to try various experimental drugs. After enduring each treatment and the sometimes grueling side-effects, he may be wondering, “Are you the one? Are you the treatment that will finally cure this affliction, or should I look for another?”
My faith tells me that the penultimate answer to the question is Jesus. Jesus is the one who can set me free from my insecurities, doubts, pain and despair. Unfortunately, that’s a hard conclusion to draw when my life feels like it is drifting off of the rails. In the midst of a crisis, or times when I feel lost or abandoned, I shake my fist toward the heavens and ask, “Are you the one? Because if you are the one, why to I feel so bad? Why are things so difficult?”
John the Baptist asked the same question of Jesus. “Are you the one, or should we look for another?” John had devoted his entire life to preaching the coming kingdom of God. Because the message was hard to hear, John was arrested, put in prison, and soon to be put to death.
Why did John ask the question? Maybe he needed clarification about the role of the messiah. He was preaching that the messiah was going to catch the world on fire, but then there’s Jesus who at times was meek and humble, like a lamb led to slaughter.
Maybe his faith was being tested. He may have wondered whether his life was a big mistake. He needed to hear that his preaching was not in vain and the ridicule and suffering would be worthwhile in the end. He may have simply needed some human assurance that Jesus was the one, the messiah of God.
Instead of simply answering the question with a yes or a no, Jesus invites John to reflect upon the signs. “What do you hear and see?”
If this was a dialogue between Jesus and John, John could have answered with words: I see prison walls. I see hopelessness and despair. I see power and corruption. I see cruelty and torture. I see pain and death.
The question invited John and invites me go deeper: What do you see with eyes looking for the kingdom, not eyes distracted by the worldly trinkets? What do you hear with ears listening for the kingdom and tuning out the noise of the world?
When my question to Jesus, “Are you the one?”, turns into a lament, the response of Jesus is the same. Look for the signs. The mighty hand of God is at work in your life.
When I gazed upon my bride to be with the question in the photo, “Are you the one?”, I looked to the signs, and all them were there. She was the one to bring joy and completeness to my life. In a similar manner, Jesus also invites us to look at the signs that true fulfillment will be found in him alone.
As we approach the Nativity celebrations, look beyond the present challenges and look with wonder and gratitude for the signs that Jesus has come and is present and active in the world today. The kingdom of God is here. In the words of Isaiah, “Do you not perceive it?”