Gaudete Sunday

Like Saint Paul, Jesus almost never baptised people.  So, in today's gospel reading, when word gets back to the disciples of John the Baptiser that Jesus is doing baptisms, John's followers are no doubt confused and anxious about that development.  Jesus has appropriated John's shtick.  [Books are written by the winners.  The late gospellers have John grovelling to Jesus from the time he is in the womb.  But historical research tells us they were competitors, or at least their disciples were, for we know there were congregations into the second century that still asserted John Baptiser as Messiah.]

In any event, a message is sent from John in prison to Jesus asking, "Are you the one?"  A snappy and appropriate response by Jesus would have been "One what?"  You see, a significant minority of Jews were not looking for a Messiah or a razzle-dazzle end-of-the-world experience.  Yet, most Jews did. Of those, most were looking for a military messiah to overthrow Roman domination, but some were looking for a religious messiah, some for a combination military/religious messiah, and still others for two messiahs -- one religious, one military.  Those who agreed on expecting one messiah did not agree on whether he would be the righteous Davidic King or someone who would identify the future king.

Rabbis don't like to answer questions "yes" or "no."  They prefer to answer a question with another question.  So Jesus replies, "What do you see?"  Signs of the old, broken order were giving way to a new world, with blind seeing, deaf hearing, lame people walking, poor folks hearing good news.  And even today we see signs of that new world when those who were blind to injustice come to see, when those deaf to the cries of the poor and oppressed begin to hear, when those crippled by self-doubt and addictions are healed, when the poor are served.

The question for us today is really "One what?"  For a sizeable and growing part of the population, Jesus is their favourite philosopher.  They can appropriate pithy aphorisms without any real personal investment in the Jesus Movement.  For others, most likely a vast majority of American Christians, Jesus is mascot.  He can appear on one's resume, be lifted up in entertainment-venue churches, and leave one feeling warm and fuzzy, again without real commitment.  Or, Jesus can be saviour, calling us to a changed life in which we feel the pain of the world and commit to change it -- to build the Kingdom of God.  It is not surprising few take the road of demanding, costly discipleship.  It is just too easy to avoid,  but it also the only way that truly nourishes the soul and accomplishes God's will.