John is in prison and wondering if
Jesus is the One, the Messiah, the one who will turn things around, the one who
will usher in the kingdom of God.
We met John the Baptist last week. The
locust-eating, camel-hair wearing, man out in the wilderness; baptising people
in the Jordan River; preaching hell-fire and brimstone.
And now?
Now he is in prison.
Now he is in prison.
John told people to prepare the way
for the one who is coming,
he thought it was Jesus, but…
He was expecting more fire and brimstone.
He was expecting to hear reports of riots and rebellion.
He was expecting a revolution overthrowing the Roman occupiers.[i]
he thought it was Jesus, but…
He was expecting more fire and brimstone.
He was expecting to hear reports of riots and rebellion.
He was expecting a revolution overthrowing the Roman occupiers.[i]
John is sitting in prison, wondering …
Did I get it wrong?
Maybe Jesus was not the one?
Maybe my whole life has been a mistake…?
Did I get it wrong?
Maybe Jesus was not the one?
Maybe my whole life has been a mistake…?
I suspect many of you know the
feeling. We start a new venture with enthusiasm, then are setbacks, and we
wonder,
what on earth was I thinking;
how did I get talked into this;
how do I get out of the mess?
what on earth was I thinking;
how did I get talked into this;
how do I get out of the mess?
While John is in prison wondering if
he got it all wrong, he sends some of his followers to ask Jesus: Are you the
One?
Are you the One we have been waiting
for, or do we wait for another?
Jesus tells the disciples of John to
look around, lives are being transformed.
“John doubted because he expected uproar and instead Jesus brought embrace.”[ii]
“John doubted because he expected uproar and instead Jesus brought embrace.”[ii]
Jesus tells them to tell John, lives
are being transformed.
Over 2000 years later, it can be easy
to join with John in wondering if Jesus is the one ushering the Kingdom of God.
Has anything changed. There is still oppression, slavery, idolatry, illness, exploitation,
poverty and violence.[iii]
Where is the kingdom of peace?
where is the kingdom where all of creation lives in harmony?
where is this amazing place we keep reading about in Isaiah, no more tears, no more hunger, no more worries?
where is the kingdom where all of creation lives in harmony?
where is this amazing place we keep reading about in Isaiah, no more tears, no more hunger, no more worries?
Matthew writes that
The blind are now able to see,
and the lame can walk.
People with leprosy are being healed,
and the deaf can hear.
The dead are raised to life,
and the poor are hearing the good news.”
The blind are now able to see,
and the lame can walk.
People with leprosy are being healed,
and the deaf can hear.
The dead are raised to life,
and the poor are hearing the good news.”
Because of Jesus, lives were being
transformed.
God didn’t send an army of angels, or
a giant meteor to wipe out the earth. God came as a baby, born to a peasant
girl.
God comes to us in unexpected ways.
Maybe that is part of the problem.
We need ears to hear and eyes to see
Maybe that is part of the problem.
We need ears to hear and eyes to see
John expected the coming of the
kingdom of God to be accompanied by revolution and warfare.
But the transformation in people’s lives wasn’t from violence,
the transformation in people’s lives was from acceptance and grace and forgiveness.
But the transformation in people’s lives wasn’t from violence,
the transformation in people’s lives was from acceptance and grace and forgiveness.
We live in the time between the
ushering in of the Kingdom of God and its coming in fullness.
If we believe that Jesus is the One
who is ushering in the kingdom of God. If Jesus is the One who “is coming to
bring healing, peace, justice and hope”, then as disciples we work with God to
bring healing, peace, justice and hope to our communities and the world.[iv]
The United Nations General Assembly
adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10th December 1948.
December 10th is now International Human Rights Day. This year the
theme is “Stand up for someone's rights today!”[v]
As a Christian, I believe that all people
are created in the image of God; all people, not just white, middle class,
religious people. One of our tasks as disciples of Jesus is to work towards the
coming of the kingdom of peace and justice.
That can be challenging work, because now,
just as in the time when Jesus was born,
there are some people who crave power
there are some people who are greedy
there are people who are itching for a fight.
there are some people who crave power
there are some people who are greedy
there are people who are itching for a fight.
What can we do to be part of the movement
toward peace and justice? One thing I did yesterday was to participate in Write
for Rights, a group of thirty people were at Woy Woy library writing letters to
various leaders asking for people to be treated fairly.
People like Máxima Acuña and her
family, who are peasants. They have suffered violent attacks and harassment in
an attempt to drive them out of their land by mining giants.
People like Eren Kesken in Turkey, who
has been before the courts more than 100 times because of her outspoken stand
on the plight of Turkey’s Kurdish minority. In 1995, she spent six months in
jail simply for using the word “Kurdistan” in an article.[vi]
Sometimes, like John we can wonder if
it is all worth it, will anything ever change. But if we believe that Jesus is
the one, then the church carries on the mantle of being conduits of love and
grace. Our role isn’t to condemn - remember
it was the religious people that Jesus condemned, not those that would be labelled
sinners or undesirables. Our role is to love.
John wanted to know if Jesus was the
one, and Jesus told his disciples to report back to John that lives were being
transformed. Jesus was the one, but his way of transformation through love was
not what John was expecting.
In what ways are we seeing lives
transformed in the activities of this congregation? Do we expect to see lives being
transformed?
Have we been waiting so long that we have given up hope of lives and the world being transformed?
Have we been waiting so long that we have given up hope of lives and the world being transformed?
As we approach Christmas, the time of celebration
of the coming of Jesus, not into a palace, or wealth, or safety; but as a baby
born to villagers in a rural area under Roman occupation; what are we expecting?
A good meal?
Christmas specials on the television?
Christmas specials on the television?
Then a day off to recover?
If we believe Jesus is the one, that
Jesus is God’s love in human form, what are we expecting to change?
Are we open to God transforming our own
lives as well as the lives of those around us?
What can we do to be part of the movement toward peace and justice, in the world and in the local community?
