Advent 3 + Gaudete
Matthew 11:2-11
The children are eager to answer the question, “What do you want for Christmas?”
It permits them to express their heart’s desire; it allows them to dream big.
Oh, what could be…
But have you ever noticed how these wishes and desires can also imprison a child’s mind and heart?
Reflect on your younger years. Did you ever get caught up wanting a Red Ryder BB gun, the newest Barbie doll, the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, or maybe an Easy Bake Oven?
What did it feel like if the gift your heart was set on never arrived under the tree or in a stocking?
If you are like me, your mind couldn’t stop thinking about it. It occupied your every waking minute and filled your dreams with dread.
It imprisoned you.
Why?
Because you couldn’t have it.
What do you want the most this Christmas? Think deeply about this. Or what is it you can no longer have?
For some, the eyes have grown dimmer, haven’t they? The Christmas lights no longer beam as brightly. For others whose mobility has decreased, the winter winds now mean a seasonal time of isolation has dawned as they hunker down at home to avoid further harm to their bodies. Still, others who grew up singing the carols of Christmas would wish upon a star to hear them with their ears once more as they grow deaf. Yet, for others, the ornaments upon the Christmas tree serve as a reminder of a loved one with whom they’ll no longer exchange gifts, one who resides with Jesus.
You might as well pull up Elvis Presley’s Blue Christmas and put it on repeat because when we put things like this, it seems like no one is doing anything or going anywhere this Christmas.
We’re just all so imprisoned within our hearts and minds.
When we are led into dark places in life, we often forget where to turn for help, comfort, and healing.
In the Gospel today it said,
“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?”
For starters, John the Baptist was imprisoned; he knew his death was imminent. It makes one wonder what could have been going through his mind as he sent his disciples, his students, to Jesus.
Was he wavering in his faith?
St. Jerome, an early 4th-century priest who was the first to translate the bible into Latin, remarked, “John asks [his question] not because he is ignorant but to guide others who are [themselves unknowing] and to say to them, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
John didn’t waver in his faith. Instead, he used his situation—being locked up—to lead his disciples out of the imprisonment of their hearts and minds.
Where were they to go?
John points them to the Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today, these words of John the Baptist continue to point you to your Savior as well, to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. ( John 1:29)
So, what does Jesus tell these disciples of John the Baptist as they approach?
“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.”
Like the disciples of John, these words of Jesus are also about you and for you.
They go below the surface of the physical aspects of your body and life. They speak to what imprisons your heart and your faith.
Do you see Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world? Has your faith become crippled this Advent season? Do you have ears that hear His Word of grace?
Because your Savior wants nothing more than to raise you from the prison cell of death to grant you, His life.
This is what Christmas is about: His incarnation, His coming into your flesh so that you might hear, see, and be raised from the death of sin through His very word.
Yet, it remains difficult to comprehend this faith from the bars of fear we find ourselves behind all too often.
For this reason, we have a Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday that means “Rejoice.”
When we observe Advent properly, the deeper we get into the season, the closer we get to Christmas. The more imprisoned we can become by not only the season's expectations but, quite simply, the changing seasons of this life, which reveals the more we need to be reminded why Jesus was born…
The question then becomes: Do you look to Jesus in these seasons or do you look for another?
As Jesus concludes His Words to the disciples of John, He says, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
Or, more accurately translated, “Blessed is the one who is not scandalized by me.”
One who is not led into the sin of unbelief.
Do not be misled this Advent season by unfilled expectations, a deteriorating body, or a broken heart.
Gaudete Sunday reminds you in these darkened days that even while you suffer, Jesus is near to you, the brokenhearted, in His Word and in His flesh and blood.
For this reason, John points His disciples and you from the prison cell of death to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
And what does this forgiveness look like?
“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.”
These words should cause you to want to say Gaudete, or in English, rejoice.
So look to your Savior and tell Him the needs of your life, trusting that He hears you and cares for you.
And then rejoice because your salvation is in Christ alone.
Rejoice because He knows your wants and needs.
Rejoice because your Savior comes. +INJ+
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
