Comfort
Grace to you and
peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Did John send his
disciples to Jesus to ease their doubts and fears? Or did he send them so that
his own doubts and fears would be eased? It’s a question whose answer divides
even the greatest of theologians and preachers. I can honestly say that I have
preached from both sides of the fence. On the one hand, Jesus Himself says that
there has not been a man born who is greater than John. John preached fire and
brimstone in his task, preparing the way of the Lord by preaching repentance
for the forgiveness of sins. Surely it took great faith to join the Nazarenes
and then to sojourn on his own into the wilderness. And yet, as great as he is,
John is a sinner, an heir of the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God,” as Paul writes to the Romans. Not even John, great as he is, has
escaped that verdict.
Whether it’s John
or his disciples who need comfort, the disciples come to Jesus with the
question: “Are
You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Are You the Savior who was promised to Adam and Eve? Are You
the One whose coming John has preached all this time? If You really are the One,
why is John rotting away in prison, awaiting the whim of an adulterous king and
his cunning mistress? It seems like a rather poor reward for such faithful
service. Shouldn’t the Messiah take better care of His messenger? So tell us, Jesus:
Are You the real deal?
These disciples might as well be reading our minds, for we
have our own doubts and fears about this Jesus character. “Jesus, I’m a baptized
child of God. Why do you allow me to go through these difficulties? Why do You
allow cancer to afflict the people I love? Why do You allow people to make my
job so frustrating? Why do You allow the weather to create such havoc? Why do
You allow terrorists to blow up buildings and kill innocent people? Aren’t You
the Messiah? Aren’t You supposed to be taking care of us?” And don’t you know
it? Jesus doesn’t jump up and spring John from prison. He doesn’t overthrow the
Roman governor. He doesn’t make all the cancer in the world disappear.
Murderous disciples of a murderous false prophet of a make-believe god still
strap bombs to their chests to kill people. Children still get sick. Employment
woes cause all sorts of trouble. Divorce is rampant. And just as John was
imprisoned and eventually beheaded for speaking the truth of Herod’s
sinfulness, God’s children are persecuted and even killed for confessing the
name of Jesus.
No, He doesn’t
wave His hand and make evil and suffering disappear. And yet, He does not leave
John’s disciples or us without comfort. He
speaks of healing the blind, the lame, the leper, the deaf—and then of raising
the dead and comforting the poor. And that is what we are: blind to our Lord’s
relentless mercy, deaf to His consoling Word, lame in our walk of faith, and
diseased with the leprosy of sin. We were dead in our sins.
But in His great mercy, our Lord has
ministered to us. He has washed away the leprosy of our sin in the waters of
Holy Baptism, where He raised us from our death of sin to new life in
righteousness. He has given us the medicine of His holy body and blood. He has
opened our ears to hear His Word of forgiveness. He has calmed the storms of
our fears with faithful preaching. Our Lord covers sin and eases doubt and
delivers from fear.
Our Lord’s answer
to John’s question stills the hearts of all the faithful. John’s disciples
rejoiced to bring that word to him, and the Baptist clings to that good news
even as the executioner swings his axe. And we rejoice to hear that Word as
well, for that Word is our shelter in the storm, our light in the darkness, our
life as death draws near. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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