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LINK TO SCRIPTURE READINGS
When John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question:
"Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?"
Jesus replied,
"Go and report to John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."
Matt 11:2-11
"Are you the One who is to come, or should we look for another?" John's disciples present Jesus with a burning question: Is He the One or not? Having declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29), having proclaimed that One mightier than he will baptize with the Holy Spirit, separating the wheat from the chaff (Mt 3:11-12; Mk 1:7-8; Lk 3:16-17), John now seems to have his doubts. Perhaps he expects a different kind of Messiah— one who will overthrow the Roman oppressors, pass judgment on evildoers, and liberate those unjustly imprisoned, himself included! Languishing in jail, John the Baptist must feel abandoned and confused. His day of liberation has not come, nor has there been the fiery judgment he expected. Jesus responds to his question by paralleling his healing mission with Isaiah's prophecies (cf. Is 35:5-6; 61:1); his reply also includes a rebuke —"Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me" (Matt 11:11). *(For a powerful dramatization of this scripture passage, you may want to view The Chosen.)
How can it be that the very prophet who paved the way for Jesus' coming now wrestles with disbelief? How is it possible for this wild man of the desert to suddenly lack understanding? For all his visions, prophecies, and calls to repentance, John the Baptist seems to have lost sight of the Kingdom of God. Of course, we don't know how he will respond when his disciples return, or whether he can let go of his assumptions that the Messiah will be a political revolutionary. Nor do we know whether he will face his death comforted by the knowledge that Jesus is indeed "the One." However, his dilemma is very human and, for some of us at least, uncomfortably familiar.
Anyone who has ever experienced major setbacks, grief, profound disappointment, or an upending of their plans and expectations knows what it is to enter the reality the mystics describe as the Dark Night. In this darkness, beset by physical and emotional suffering, we see nothing and know nothing— not even ourselves. There are neither answers nor any logic to our situation. In fact, we may find ourselves stripped of all comfort and consolation. Even more terrible, however, is the Dark Night of the Spirit, that experience of feeling abandoned by God.
In the darkest of times, most of us turn to God for comfort and strength. But what if we pray and God seems deaf to our pleas? What if we begin to doubt God's love or even God's existence? What if the pain of our situation is so unfathomable that we can no longer pray? Perhaps this was John the Baptist's experience; perhaps this Dark Night is what YOU might be going through this Advent!
Whether we can sing songs of festival or not, Gaudete Sunday proclaims that the glory of God is all around us and that the Kingdom is wherever we happen to be, no matter how heavy our hearts may feel. And for those still walking in darkness, it reminds us that the Christ-Light burns in the darkest of places, even if our eyes can no longer behold its brilliance...
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QUESTIONS
FOR REFLECTION
- What is the Good News you long to hear this Sunday?
- What is the Good News the world longs for?
- What sustains you when you cannot pray?
- What glad tidings have you heard this Advent?
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