From the Sunday Note, with additional thoughts–
When John the Baptist heard in prison 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 said to them in reply,
“Go and tell 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.”
Matthew 11:2-6 from Sunday’s Gospel
Another Sunday focused on John the Baptist? John is related to Christmas as his life is all about anticipating the coming (the ‘Advent’) of the Savior. Only a few months older than Jesus, John’s work on this earth is shortly to end as he languishes in one of Herod’s prisons. In his own mind he may be clear about Jesus being the one he was to announce. But his followers are divided. It is clear that Jesus is a great and powerful prophetic figure, but is he the heir of David we have been told to expect? Is he a triumphant fighter who will free and re-unite all divided Israel?
One of our limits as human beings is shown in our struggle to understand just how limited we really are! We are the smartest beings in our world, true, but that is not the same as saying we understand everything–it is obvious we do not. Nor is it to say that we even can come to understand everything. God, in communicating with the Israelites, had to communicate an overall understanding of Himself that includes elements that are in great tension with each other: He is a shepherd who cares for each wounded lamb; He is a warrior who will avenge wrongs; He longs for the love of each of us just as we long for each other’s love; He creates everything out of nothing and keeps us in being, etc., etc. He chose to communicate these various truths through pictures and stories and poems that linger in our minds and speak to our hearts, ordinary people though we are.
Unsurprisingly then, not all of John’s followers (or perhaps even John himself on alternate Tuesdays) completely grasp God’s method, that is, His approach, to fulfilling all the prophecies through Jesus. John is a plain, direct man—when his followers question him about Jesus and God’s plan, he tells them “Go, ask him.”
They do. And Jesus replies by stacking up allusions from the greatest of the Messiah-predicting prophets, Isaiah, on what the coming of the Savior will look like. His response is a compact poem in the original Greek of Matthew. Here is a copy from a literal translation:
Blind—see again and
lame—walk,
lepers—are cleansed, and
deaf—hear, and
dead—rise up, and
poor—receive good news, and
blessed—is whoever does not
stumble over me.
Six debilitations: blindness, lameness, leprosy, deafness, death, poverty (of material and/or spiritual goods needed for life). Followed by one new element that goes beyond Isaiah: God’s blessing on anyone who does not stumble over Jesus. (As many will, due to the crucifixion/Resurrection.)
Let us do spiritual work with these seven items. One of them is pointed directly at you. Take the list and ask “Lord, where am I blind in my life/relationship with You and those around me? Where do I stumble along lamely? What do I need cleansing of? What must I do to become able to hear You? Or to become alive again, or more deeply alive for the first time? Where/how am I poor? How can I find Your blessing? Listen. It will come. If not today, then tomorrow.
For further reflection:
John is a prophet–and MORE than a prophet! He is the last and the greatest of them all, for he not only pointed towards the coming the Savior as had Isaiah, Jeremiah, and all the others. He, uniquely, pointed directly AT the actual Savior after that Savior appeared on the earth. He died before that Savior could complete the transition to the End Times effected by the Savior’s death, Resurrection, Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, so the least in the New Kingdom is greater than John was. That is, every living Christian lives in a transforming reality already, the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven, where every Christian breathes in and out the Holy Spirit that gives them supernatural life. John is currently in Paradise, and he will receive his Resurrection body with all of us at the general Resurrection. The light of the glory of Christ will reflect even more brightly on him then and forever!