Looking for the Messiah Again (and Again)

“When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” From Matthew 11:2-11

The woman made an appointment to come see me at St. Peter and St. Paul early in my ministry. She wanted to discuss some troubles she was having at work and how she imagined her future. She worked in a bank and had a lot of interaction with the public. She had been struggling with co-workers and a generally stressful work environment. She didn’t feel respected, and her interactions with the public were hard. She felt stuck there and wondered if she should be considering another path.

I asked the normal questions. Was there a time she had enjoyed the work? This place? What had she studied? What was she looking for in her work — to pay the bills or something deeper? What had she dreamed of doing when she was a child?

Then the conversation took an unexpected turn. She said, “Beth, I think I want to be you. I look at you and your job. You work in this beautiful place. Everyone is always nice to one another. You have no idea what it’s like out there in the real world. I think God is calling me to work in the church!”

If you found yourself chuckling, you’ve probably been around the church awhile. While many holy things happen in community and you will meet many holy people here, it is not marked safe from all the bumps and bruises of the real world. This woman had a beautiful image of how she hoped the church would and could be, and the best thing that could happen to her was to have some of that shine buffed off so the hard work of real love in community could begin.

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

I love this question in the Gospel this Sunday. We know John is in prison and clearly has some time to reflect. Is he doubting who Jesus is? Is he looking for encouragement to sustain him in this time of confinement?

Regardless of his motives, it is an important invitation to keep looking for Jesus without assuming we will immediately recognize him. Whether in community or out in the world, we have to keep looking for the signs of Christ’s coming. Which is why I think Jesus’ answer is so important. He says, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”

Or as Mary Oliver says a bit more succinctly in her poem Instructions for Living a Life:

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.

Sounds like a good way to find Christ, over and over again.

Peace, Beth +