"Waffling" (Matthew 11:2-11)

John the Baptist, while in prison, sent one of his disciples to Jesus to pose the question: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Are you the one?

That seems to be a pretty ironic question coming from the guy who baptized Jesus . . . who stated that he was unworthy of baptizing Jesus, that it was Jesus who should be baptizing him.  John had a pretty good inkling of who Jesus was . . . he was the one!  So, why is he now asking this question about whether or not Jesus is the one?  If anyone should know, it is John.

John is waffling.

Waffling, according to the dictionary, is a failure to make up one’s mind.  It is a kind of back and forth with a decision . . . one moment it is yes, the next it is a no, then maybe . . . back and forth.  John’s question is waffling.

Jesus’ time is not that much different than our times.  It would be silly to think that all the Jews of Jesus’ time thought alike . . . that they believed the same way . . . that they were all out of the same religious mold.  They weren’t; no, they had different teachers or rabbis, they have different theological outlooks, they had other religions to choose from . . . there was more than one way of faithfully looking at what was taking place in the world.  There were lots of choices.

One of my favorite children’s sermons had to do with ice cream and Baskin Robbins.  Ice cream is ice cream . . . but the reality is that there are lots of different flavors of ice cream.  Baskin Robbins proclaims that they have a minimum of 31 flavors, but that they are all still ice cream.  People have a choice of what they like in the flavor of ice cream.  Isn’t it frustrating to go to an ice cream parlor and get behind someone who cannot make up his or her mind as to which flavor of ice cream they want?  They can’t make up their minds . . . they waffle back and forth.

Well, God is a lot like Baskin Robbins . . . there is one God, but there are a whole bunch of flavors.  For example, let’s just take our community and the Christian bodies of faith that are represented within our town’s limit.  We have a Lutheran flavor . . . a Catholic flavor . . . a Baptist flavor--in fact, two Baptist flavors . . . a Wesleyan flavor . . . remnants of a Episcopalian flavor . . . and, of course, our own flavor--the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  If there were only one flavor, there would be only one church in the Joliet Community.  Beyond Joliet there are even more flavors . . . Presbyterian, Methodist, Mennonite, Greek Orthodox, a ton of Baptist--just to name a few in the Christian flavors.  There are also other flavors that are not Christian . . . Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist.  Each offers a flavor of God to those who would like to experience that flavor.  There are lots of choices . . . now and in the time of Jesus.

Waffling is not uncommon when it comes to faith . . . it is how we grow in our faith.  This “back and forth” . . . this internal debate . . . the questioning . . . the wondering.  John was taught one way to believe, but was also exposed to other ways of believing . . . including the theology of the Messiah.  They all sounded good.  One day it was this belief, the next day it was another belief . . . which flavor was the right flavor . . . the right choice?  “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Inquiring minds want to know.

In this little story Jesus does several things:  First, he confirms that he is the one . . . Jesus tells John’s disciples to go and tell John what he has seen . . . blind see, lame walk, people are cured, deaf hear, and the dead are raised . . . how much more evidence does one need?  Second, he squashes the rumor or belief that John the Baptist is the one everyone is looking for as the Messianic figure . . . John is the prophet . . . the one who brought the good news of the Messiah . . . the one who blazed the trail.  John is not the Messiah.  He is not the one.  Third, and last, he paints a picture that is the opposite of what the world views as a kingdom . . . it is not like the people were experiencing in King Herod or the Romans; no, it was not based on force, but on love . . . the power was in love, not violence, fear, and intimidation.

Jesus is the way.

But, guess what?  Just like there are many flavors of ice cream . . . many flavors of God, there are many ways of understanding Jesus and his way.  Not everyone agrees with exactly what are the ways of Jesus or even what the will of God is.  There are a lot of interpretations and beliefs out there . . . which one is the right one?  The correct one?  Not everyone likes the same flavor . . . think about it . . . we are a community of a little over 600 people and we have at least seven flavors of God to choose from.  

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone . . . maybe even God . . . would just tell us exactly what we are to believe, how we are to be faithful, and how we are to live a faithful life?  To give us something solid that we could hang on to so that we can quit all our waffling?  Especially when it comes to our faith?

You bet it would . . . but, it isn’t going to happen.

We are going to waffle.  We are going to waffle because the bottom line comes down to us understanding our personal relationship with God . . . not what someone else tells us to belief, but what we believe.  And, we all know that what we believe is constantly changing as we continue to grow . . . as we continue to be older.  What we believed when we were children is long gone and replaced with the lessons and faith we learned through years of making the journey towards a closer and more intimate relationship with God.  Our waffling is what has made us the people we are today.

Are you the one?  This is not a question of disbelief or unbelief, but is an honest question of inquiry in hopes of growing closer to the Holy . . . of growing closer to Jesus . . . to God.

The season of Advent . . . the journey of Advent . . . is a journey towards and into the Holy.  It is a season in which we are hit with a proposal . . . a choice . . . thrown a promise, and asked to explore it.  To explore it in order to grow closer to the Holy and to begin bringing forth the Kingdom of God.  It is an opportunity to grow.  It is not something that we have to wait around for . . . it is something we can experience right now.  We do not need to wait.  Jesus has shown us the way.

Asking questions is how we learn . . . how we grow . . . how we move from one place to another.  Advent seemingly gives us permission . . . expects us to ask questions in order to grow closer to God and bring forth the Kingdom of God.  In asking questions we are given opportunities and choices . . . and, if we take our faith seriously, there will always be questions . . . always be waffling.

Thus it is that we journey through the season of Advent . . . that we move towards the “promise” and the “gift” . . . and the struggle to understand.  We waffle.  We ask questions.  We flip flop back and forth.  But, in the end, the choice is up to us as individual . . . confirmed by the faithful . . . and lived in our lives. Yeah, it would be nice if someone just gave us the answers, but it isn’t going to happen . . . they are our questions, and the answers are up to us . . . the choice is always ours.  Amen.

Illusions (Matthew 11:2-11)

“We all suffer from dreams.”

(Bernard Cornwell)

     You can’t blame a person for second-guessing.  John the Baptist had been locked away in the dungeon of King Herod for most of a year, but he had been keeping his eyes and ears open for news about the Messiah that he believed that Jesus was.  What he was hearing was nothing like what he was expecting . . . far from it.  He wondered why Jesus had not yet announced that he was the Messiah . . . the expected one.  He wondered why Jesus had not destroyed the power of the Romans to set the people free . . . used the power to topple Herod and set him free.  John the Baptist was wondering . . . 

     And, who among us would not wonder too?  In this season of Advent we are constantly confronted on the journey with illusions . . . illusions between what we expect . . . what we want . . . and reality.  Reality never seems as good as the illusions.  So it was for John the Baptist . . . his illusion was being shattered by the reality of Jesus and his messiahship . . . and, he was not the only one.  What he believed and longed for, like most of the Jewish people of his time, was not what reality presented, but what they embraced as the illusion . . . a great, powerful military-like king who would come in, stomp the oppressors, and free the people.  Jesus’ methods and style were a long way from that.  Thus the  question that John the Baptist raises: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

     As I stated earlier, “We all suffer from dreams.”  We all suffer from illusions.  We all suffer from hope.  Sometimes our dreams, illusions, and hope keep us from seeing the potential and beauty of the reality that is being offered.  When that happens it is difficult to embrace the gift and allow it to flourish.

     It is in this season of Advent that we experience this clash between the illusion and the reality.  In the illusion we are in the camp of John the Baptist and others, embracing something that we think is what we expect; but, the reality is something completely different.  The reality is not based in violence and power, but in relationship and love.  One way is quick and easy, the other is more difficult and frustrating.  And, as M. Scott Peck wrote in his book, The Road Less Traveled, we humans have a tendency to take the easy way out . . . thus we want the quickest and fastest way to get the results we want.  We don’t want to sit around a campfire, holding hands, singing Kum Ba Ya.  We want to get down to business!

    The anniversary of the Newtown school shooting was marked with another school shooting in Colorado . . . the remembrance was punctuated with more violence and death . . . the illusion was shattered.  This past week as the world gathered to pause and celebrate the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela in South Africa . . . inklings of violence and war in North Korea, the Middle East, and other parts of Africa echoed in the background of the celebration . . . shattering the illusion of peace.  Each day in our newspapers . . . on our televisions and radio . . . we hear the shattering of our illusions . . . why can’t we just get what we want?

     We want the Kingdom of God.  We want it now.  So, why can’t God just come down, smash all the barriers that obstruct, and rid us of those who would oppose the kingdom?  God could do it . . . God could pull another great flood like God did with Noah . . . wipe the slate clean and start over fresh with those of us who want the kingdom.  But, the reality shatters the illusion by telling us that the only way the kingdom will ever come is Jesus’ way.  Jesus’ way of love.

     Jesus told us that we are to love the Lord, our God, with our whole being . . . body, mind, and soul.  Jesus also told us that we are to love ourselves so that we could love others likewise.  All this love centers around relationships . . . our relationships with God, with ourselves, and others.  Relationships take time and effort . . . they do not happen overnight.  Relationships are a lot of work.  Who among us . . . after long days of work . . . really want to work that hard?  No, instead we join the chorus with John the Baptist wanting to know: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

     It is difficult to let go of the illusions we hold.  Jesus understands this as we read his response to John the Baptist and his explanation to his disciples . . . it is hard to let go of the illusion to embrace the reality.  Over and over again, Jesus points out to everyone that John the Baptist laid it all out and no one seemed to get it . . . including, apparently, John the Baptist himself.  As much as Jesus would love to have everyone “get it”, he knows that it will take time and lots of effort before the reality of God’s Kingdom manifests itself.  It won’t be something that magically appears . . . as much as we would want it to, but it will take generations who are willing to shatter the illusion and embrace the reality.

     To that end, when the illusion is shattered and the reality revealed, Jesus answered John the Baptist with these words: “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”  Following Jesus . . . the real Jesus . . . is not easy.  It is not easy because he is constantly shattering the hazy illusions with the reality of his mandate to love . . . to love God . . . to love ourselves . . . and, to love others.  He calls us to relationship . . . with God . . . with ourselves . . . with others.  We have all been in relationships and we all know how difficult they can be.  Sometimes we think that it is better and easier to dance to the illusion than it is to learn a new dance.  In this season of Advent keep your eyes upon the reality, not the illusion . . . and, may we all realize the Kingdom of God.  Amen.