Advent 3:6. 20 December 2013

image by Caroline Keyzor

by Pastor Eric Thompson

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."

Matthew 11:2-6, ESV

Doubt.

There are certain things you'd best never admit to certain church people. At or near the top of that list is that you experience doubt. A recently deceased, well-known Christian author wrote a memoir a couple of years before he died in which he expressed his deep wrestlings with certain things that all "good Christians" are supposed to believe. Many of the self-appointed watchdogs of Christian orthodoxy converged upon him like so many sharks smelling blood in the water. The blogosphere and social media outlets were abuzz with accusations and condemnation.

John the Baptist once similarly bled. He was no ordinary figure. He was the promised forerunner of the Messiah--the herald who cried "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." It was he who confidently declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" On this day, however, John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, is in prison. He will soon lose his life because of someone else's ill-advised promise. Things aren't as he might have anticipated. Thoughts come and go from his mind, and he has a lot of alone-time to think. So he sends for an answer: Are you the one, or should we look for another?

Take some time to consider the following. Perhaps it would be helpful to record your responses in a journal.

What might it have been like to be in John the Baptist's shoes? Are there times when you have experienced troublesome doubt? What can we learn from how John the Baptist dealt with his questions?

Here is a prayer in response to today's text. You can pray this as your own or use it as a prompt for a spontaneous prayer.

Father, you are to be glorified for the way you tell us the whole story. We see the triumphs as well as the darker hours of our heroes. You in your wisdom have given us these episodes to help us when we have our own darker hours. Thank you for loving us in this way also.