“Are you the one who is to come, or should we wait for another?” John asks as he paces around his prison cell. Prison cells are terrible places if you want your sanity to remain intact. They are small, and cramped, and they cause you to think way too much. John, the great preacher of repentance in the wilderness, the prophet who would get in the faces of religious leaders and fearlessly point out the faults of secular rulers, the man described by Jesus as the greatest of all people born of women, is trapped, heart pacing, breath fast, wondering if a cramped space is his reward for his hard work for God? “Are you the one?” “Was it worth it?” “Where’s my reward?” “What did I ever do to you God, but serve you?” “Why won’t you recue me?” “Are you really the one, or should we wait for another?”
Every young Jewish boy had been taught about the Messiah. In fact, every young boy was celebrated because he had the potential to be the coming Messiah. John, was no different, except that he knew he was not the Messiah. He knew that he was not the one who would lead the Jewish people to freedom. He knew that he was not the one who would break the chains holding down the people of God. He knew that he was not the one who would come riding in the Jerusalem on a mighty horse to overthrow the Romans and rule with a just arm. He knew that he was not the one who would do any of this, but he thought that he had found the one that would. Now, he is not so sure. He, the greatest person ever born, is full of doubt. John is not even being freed by the Messiah from a little prison cell; how is Jesus going to do something larger like freeing a people from an entire oppressive government? “Are you really the one?”
Today, a home owner looks up from the foreclosure notice after years of hard work on their home, and asks, “What did I ever do to deserve this? Jesus, are you the one, or should I search for another?” A woman is thrown out on the street by her former boyfriend after years of tender love and dedication, looks up to God and asks, “What did I ever do to deserve this? Jesus, are you the one or should I search for another?” A grandparent, after losing a grandchild in an accident and then soon after, a child to depression, looks up to God and asks, “What did I ever do to deserve this? Jesus, are you the one or should I search for another?”
About every three years or so I get a letter or an email from a former youth group member who is off at college. They all go something like this: “When I was in confirmation and youth group, I thought that I could see and understand God so well. Now I am not quite so sure. I don’t think I know who God is anymore. I am sorry if I disappoint you, but I am not so sure that I believe in God at all.”
I would like to say for the record that I am not ever disappointed when I get these letters or disappointed in the college student who send them. There is a time in everyone’s life when we discover that God is not who we expected God to be. Even the greatest person born of woman, John the Baptist, had these same questions.
Jesus answers John’s doubts by telling John’s disciples to "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. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me." In other words, I am not who you expected me to be. You are right, your Messiah does not exist, but that does not mean the Messiah has not come. God is God, and will be who God wants to be, and God will appear where God chooses to appear. Blessed are the people who realize that.
In the Jewish tradition, God has a name, in fact God has many names, but you cannot say one of the most Holy of them all: YHWH. Spelled out, God’s name has only consonant letters, there are no vowels. As a child you may or may not have discovered that it is nearly impossible to say a word without using vowels. Try saying “sanctuary” without using any vowels, or try “Towanda." It is nearly impossible to say a word without somehow adding some sort of vowel sound. There is a point to this game; if God’s name only has consonant letters, then you cannot possibly say it. And, if you cannot say God’s name, then you cannot own God or say that God is this or God does that. And, if you cannot own God, then God is allowed to be God. And, if God is allowed to be God, then the only way to find out who God is and what God does is to be open to seeing God when God chooses to reveal those things to you.
“Are you the one?” John asks Jesus. The answer is “Yes, but I am not who you expect me to be.”
The Buddhist tradition holds an interesting concept, it goes something like this: if when following the Buddha’s ways toward enlightenment you see the Buddha; kill him. In other words, do not let your own concept of the Buddha get in the way of your journey. And, Jesus invites John to do a similar thing. If when following the Messiah you see him or think you know who he is and what he is about; kill the Messiah in your head. That Messiah is not real. Instead, follow the true Messiah, the true servant of God, and expect nothing in particular. Simply, be open to what the true Messiah has to offer.
I know that the remaining questions are huge questions. So, what is the true Messiah like? What is Jesus about? What is God like? I will not answer any of your questions today. Doing so may simply create another false God for you to carry around and be disappointed in. All I will say is: God is God. Follow where God takes you, and when you walk around in the world, expect to see God at work. Expect to see God at the accountant’s office, because God is there. Expect to see God on the street with the suffering, because God is there. Keep your eyes open, and follow where God leads. It may not be to where you expect, but it will be to a place of grace and salvation.
All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and is used by permission. All rights reserved.
3 comments:
"In the Jewish tradition, God has a name, but you cannot say it. Spelled out, God’s name has only consonant letters, there are no vowels."
As a Jew my entire life, I must tell you that G-d does have a name. Many of them. what you are referring to is the 72 letter name of G-d and I would ask you to try and find any word anywhere that can be pronounced with or without vowels with 72 letters in it. I speak of and pray to him daily using His names. I am well aware of who He is and what He does for me everyday. I don't see at all how not saying His name makes Him any less real to me or interferes with who He is at all. I wonder if you can expound on that comment.
Thank you.
onlyajew,
I have adapted the post to more clearly reflect the name that I am speaking of: "YHWH." Thank you for pointing that oversight out to me. The point I am trying to make is the same one you make every time you type "God" as "G-d." God is God and is to be respected. God will do as God desires, and we cannot control God. As a Jew you will have noticed the theme through the Hebrew Bible concerning giving names. Whoever is the one giving the name, is the one with the power. By naming, you have dominion over the thing or person you name (take the naming of Adam and the naming that Adam does in creation for example). YHWH is the name that God gives Godself. Only God is in control of God. Further, the name is intentionally unprouncable. No one can say it, therefore no one can claim any power in relation to God. God is God. God will be who God will be (just as the name itself implies).
Using one of God's names in your prayers will not make God any less real to you. I pray to God using a name all the time. That is not the point. I would like to point out though that it could be slightly dangerous to use God's name since it opens up the possibility that we may become certain that we know who God is and what God is about, thereby limiting God from being God in our lives and the lives of those around us. For example, take fundamentalists of any monotheistic religion. They would claim to know God's name (metephorically). They claim to know what God is about, and in response, they act in rash and dangerous ways. They lack the respect for God that allows God to be who God is. They limit God and God's actions to the particular agenda that they themselves are passionate about. They do not leave themselves open for any revelation from God that may challenge their own false god.
The point in my post is that if we in no way think that we own God, then we are open to seeing what God is doing around us. For early Christians, they expected a militaristic messiah who would free them from the Romans. In Jesus, they did not get this. This was confusing and disappointing. Jesus is indicating that they need to be open to seeing what God is actually doing rather than searching for what they expect. God is God. God will be who God will be. That is the point, I believe, of this Christian scripture. Though you aren't a Christian, this same notion may apply for you also. Does God disappoint us, or are we simply expecting God to be something that God is not?
Post a Comment