Is.35:1-10 Ps. 146: 4-9
James 5:7-10 Matt. 11:2-11
It would not be implausible to regard the community of John the Baptist to be something of a proto-church, a precursor, a forerunning community of the Jesus communities which became the eventual churches, or local neighborhood gatherings of the followers of Jesus.
Why so? From the Gospel record we know that former disciples of John the Baptist became followers and leaders in the Jesus Movement. The Gospels record words of John the Baptist referring people to Jesus as the logical successor of the baptismal movement which he began around the Jordan River.
The references to John the Baptist in the Gospel are second only to Jesus and the presentation of such appreciative regard between John and Jesus was a message to facilitate the transition from being the community led by John the Baptist into being the community initiated by the Jesus of history, and which continued as the community of the Risen Christ.
For the significant number of people who had followed John the Baptist, there would be questions. Such as, what would John the Baptist say about Jesus? Would John the Baptist approve of Jesus and his message? Can I be loyal to John the Baptist and follow Jesus too?
One of the persuasive goals of each of the Gospels is to help persons make a transition from John the Baptist to Jesus.
Today's Advent Gospel, is such a writing and preaching strategy of the early preachers channeling the voice of Jesus regarding this relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus.
In a community as significant as John the Baptist's, it is logical to think that John had teaching disciples who had leadership roles. So when John was imprisoned, the question might be which of his disciples would succeed him in his prophetic mission of preaching the repentance of sins and proclaiming the arrival of God's profound next crucial messenger.
It could be that Jesus was one who had been mentored in the community of John the Baptist but whose charisma had become so evident that John sensed the importance of Jesus very early.
When John was imprisoned, he wanted to know what was going on outside the prison wall within the spiritual movements in Palestine. And reports had arisen regarding Jesus. John the Baptist sent to inquire.
Jesus was a "Come and see" kind of person. He was a relational person; he was willing to have his disciples witness his style of living to experience the congruence between his words and his deeds.
When John was in prison, he was not able to see what Jesus was doing so he sent his disciples to scope out perhaps the next generation of his mission. John's question, "Is Jesus not only my successor but even the great one which we have been speculating and dreaming about?"
How did Jesus respond? Jesus, John the Baptist and his followers knew the writings of the prophet Isaiah. How would the world know the great one? They would know the great one by his bringing of the good news. The good news or Gospel which we think is original to Jesus was actually from the prophet Isaiah.
In Advent, the third Sunday is called Rejoice Sunday. Another way of saying this would be "Good News" Sunday. What is the Good News? It is when the lack of want is provided as normal for those who have been poor, it is when the many good forms of health are established and celebrated as the normal good, like sight, ability to walk, living disease free, not being shunned by communities for health reasons, and knowing a more comprehending and inclusive life which makes death but one occasion within everlasting occasions.
The message of Jesus and his community to John the Baptist and his community is that the Risen Christ offers a new creative advance in the experience of salvation or wholistic health. And yes, this message surpasses that which was offered by John the Baptist in his time and place. There happened in Jesus a new paradigm, a surpassing paradigm to the one preached by John the Baptist.
The message of Jesus was greater in a surpassing way; it was not a message meant to diminish the importance of John and his message for the community of his time.
The Risen Christ offered some surpassing opportunities to people who lived in a different time than John the Baptist. The Risen Christ continues to offer in every age a surpassing experience to what has gone before, because the Risen Christ is always Good News, and not just the old news which used to be good in in a former time and place.
Let us not try to hang on to how the good news was once known and practiced by tradition; let us look for the Risen Christ to be fresh Good News in a new moment in time for us and our world. In this way we will renew the Spirit of Rejoice Sunday of Advent. Amen.
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