Are You The One?

Isaiah 35:1-10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,

the desert shall rejoice and blossom;

like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,

and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who are of a fearful heart,

"Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.

He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense.

He will come and save you."

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then the lame shall leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

the burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way;

the unclean shall not travel on it,

but it shall be for God's people;

no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.

No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,

and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain joy and gladness,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Matthew 11:2-11
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?"

Jesus answered them, "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."

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John:

"What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?

A reed shaken by the wind?

What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes?

Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.

What then did you go out to see? A prophet?

Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

This is the one about whom it is written,

'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way before you.'

Truly I tell you, among those born of women

no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist;

yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

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You know those stories or songs you hear sometimes, about when people meet, and they just know, almost instantly, that that’s “the one”?  You know, someone is at a party, and they see someone across a crowded room, or they have a brief conversation after being introduced, and then they go home, saying, “You’re the one! I’m going to marry you!”

I never really believed those stories, but a year ago this weekend something very close to that actually happened to me. From just about the first time Wade and I met, it seemed, we just knew we were meant to be together.

Sometimes you just know.

But not always….

We hear in scripture this morning, that after all the time he had spent out in the wilderness baptizing, after all the times Jesus walked by and he pointed to him, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God!”, John the Baptist is not yet really sure if Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah. We can forgive him, I imagine, for being pretty discouraged at this point in his life. He is in prison, and has been there pretty much since the start of Jesus’ public ministry. So all he knows about what is happening is second-hand, through messages being sneaked in by John’s disciples. And what prophet wouldn’t want the chance to see first-hand that the Word of the Lord, that had been spoken through them to the people, was actually coming true? 

When he is asked, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”, Jesus’ reply mirrors the words Jodie read this morning, from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah said, 

“Don’t be afraid! Here is your God.

He will come and save you."

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then the lame shall leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.”

And so, Jesus says, “Go and tell John all 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.” All the things Isaiah named have come to pass, and more.

John was not alone in his doubt. In fact, many of the gospel stories are about people testing Jesus, people challenging Jesus, people seeking signs and wonders to prove whether or not Jesus truly was “the one” – the one they had been waiting for.

The gospels themselves were written in order to provide stories as documented proof of the things that had happened in Jesus’ life, that defined him as “the one” – the Messiah.

But Jesus knew that his disciples would have a hard time keeping the faith, and obediently following, once he was gone. This is why the gospels record how he patiently and thoroughly prepared them; prepared us.

He prepared us to know that he is God, that his way of loving is God’s way of loving, that we are forgiven whether we realize it or not, and that living as forgiven people, one and all, is the truest and richest form of life. He prepared us through the Beatitudes, and through all his “I AM” statements, telling us “I am the living water. I am the bread of life. I am the way, the truth, the life.” I AM. 

He prepared his disciples by challenging them to say who they believed he was, and also by telling them who they are, and whose they are.

When he asked “Who do you say that I am?”, Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Messiah”. And because of that, Peter learned something new about who he was – the rock, steady and strong. In spite of his weaknesses, this is how Jesus named him.

Jesus also prepared the disciples not only for what was to come, how he was to die, and then to rise again, but also for how his leaving them after only three years would make way for the Holy Spirit to come, to give them and us the continuing guidance we would need, to keep the Word of God alive and relevant in our hearts, showing us the way.

Through all this we know and can completely trust, that:

·      God is God, and we are not. Not any one of us. God is God, Jesus is God, the Holy Spirit is God. God is “The One”, in all these three persons.

·      We participate with God as the body of Christ, the church. Even as we boldly declare the hope that is in us, we also boldly declare our status as sinner, with no hope other than the hope freely offered by Jesus Christ. We do nothing on our own; any good we ever do is because the Holy Spirit comes alongside us to complete our lame and limited efforts.

So no one of us is ever “the one”. We come alongside others in need, for a season, for a moment sometimes, to be the people God calls us to be. And then we move on, and someone new is called for the next moment, the next situation, the next season. And we do this again and again, throughout our lives. It’s how we practice communion, how we work together to help each other through the joys and challenges of life. For one circumstance, for one person, for one moment or for one brief season of life, with God’s help, we may be “the one” needed for the particular gift we can share. But we are never fully “The One” – that is only The One God – God in community, Holy in One.

In the gospel according to John, it is John the Baptist who says, “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.” John knew that he was doing important work, but that it was not about him at all – it was about The Messiah, the Holy One, God in the Flesh. He would not allow his own disciples to get confused, thinking that they were following John the Baptist, but rather pointing, over and over again, to Jesus the Christ.

So the answer to the question – “Are You The One?” – when it is asked to any of us – is, “well, yes and no”. We are one people in Christ. We are one of all God’s children who are called to ministry of reconciliation and hope, using whatever gifts God has given to us to make things better in whatever small way we can, whenever we can. We are ones who are called to say “yes” to the needs of the world, knowing that “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” But we are not, ever, “The One”. The One is The One God, Holy in Three. And The One will always be with us, always will walk alongside us, always will call the right person to the right place for the right time, always will remind that person that “you must decrease so Christ can increase”.

This is the Advent Sunday when we also remember how the angel came to Mary, and described to her just how God was calling her to participate in the incredible story of salvation.

Mary was not The One.

But Mary had a role to play, and even though what was being asked of her was beyond what any of us could possibly imagine, she responded in two significant ways, two ways that are models for us whenever we are called to service by God.

First, she responded with humility. “Here I am, let it be with me according to your will.”

Second, she responded with boundless hope for what this call would mean for the future.

Today’s readings also include what is known as Mary’s Magnificat – this joyful, hopeful, powerful song of Mary, from the first chapter of Luke’s gospel:

Luke 1:46b-55
"My soul magnifies the Lord, 

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants forever." 

Even though we sing “Mary, Did You Know?”, this passage makes it clear that Mary knew, both the awesome responsibility given to her, and the awesome hope for the world that came along with the birth of this divine child.

I pray that we all can approach the work God has for us with the same humility, the same hope, the same sense of possibility – knowing that…

No one of us is “The One”,

but that we are called, every day of our lives, to serve “The One” – both in true humility and in boundless hope.