Go and tell what you see and hear

As Tom Petty famously said, the waiting is the hardest part. But here we are, still waiting.

Today is the day when Advent is supposed to lighten up, when we light the pink candle, put on the rose vestments, and let ourselves rejoice a little bit. Gaudete Sunday, it’s called – Rejoicing Sunday. We’re preparing the way for Christ’s coming, and getting closer. And Christmas is coming, and there’s fun to be had.

But there’s also still so much darkness in the world. Ignore it as we like, the days are shorter and the nights are long, and the news of the day keeps being grim. And three candles is not much light. No wonder we keep turning up the tinsel.

And meanwhile in our scriptures, John the Baptist is in prison. Last week we heard about him out preaching up a storm in the wilderness, but now he’s been arrested, he will soon be executed, he’s at the end of his story. The Messiah he acclaimed so readily at the River Jordan is beginning to seem – well, not like the Messiah he was expecting. So he sends his two disciples to ask what must feel like a life or death question: are you the one, Jesus, or are we still waiting? Is he wondering? Or is he despairing? His own life is ending and this Messiah has not yet routed the Romans from Jerusalem. Things seem instead to be getting worse. He prepared the way and – now what? And Jesus replies in that indirect way he often does: no yes or no, just, Go and tell John what you hear and see. You don’t see the Romans being conquered. You don’t see me on the throne of Israel. You don’t see everything all made right. But what you do see is this: 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. Things are happening all around you. Put them together and see what you make of it.

It's such a poignant moment. We don’t really know whether John the Baptist ever makes up his mind – whether he ever understands just what he was preparing the way for. Does he get a glimpse of the world transformed? Or is he forever waiting? Those two disciples walk off stage and what happens next? – what do they make of Jesus’ answer, what do they talk about with John? So it’s one of those open questions left for us to answer. We see all that Jesus did and what God can still do in this world. What do we make of it?

Of course the disciples’ response could have been, yes, sure, Jesus, but…but there are also all these other things that are wrong. Rome is still in power, our people are still oppressed, and there are still plenty of people out there who aren’t yet healed and freed – our own leader John, for one. And most days, these things are all we can see. These seem to add up to bad news, not good. 

We can get caught in that same response to Jesus. Church feels like a respite where things feel good. But once we go back out into the rest of the world? We go onto a news site and it’s nothing but bad news; all around us we see people in desperate need, asking for money and waiting at food pantries and frightened for their families’ safety. Word of new suffering seems to roll in all too regularly. So much feels dark in the world that we too can feel imprisoned by it all. Are you really the one, Jesus? Or are we stuck here still waiting for it all to someday get better?

But Jesus tells the disciples, and us: Go and tell what you hear and see. John is despairing and he needs you to share hope. This world is hard, but there’s light shining in it. Pay attention to the signs, and do something with what you see. There’s a job for us to do in there.

So I’ve been thinking about what I’m hearing and seeing. Times and ways that I’ve noticed the light this Advent season. Here are a few of them:

·      Yesterday I served as chaplain at our diocese’s day of discernment, the beginning stage for those seeking ordination. There were so many interested candidates that they had to bring in extra help to lead the conversations, and there’s even more already in the process toward ordination. The church’s future is better than we thought.

·      My mom, whom many of you know went onto hospice a few months ago, is now happily reading and emailing and receiving visitors.

·      Charitable giving on Giving Tuesday reached $4 billion from over 38 million Americans, a 13% increase from last year. Even in hard economic times when it seems people are so coldhearted, people are still giving.

·      The house around the corner from us that is already covered in lighted Christmas decorations still manages to add new ones on a daily basis. Ok, that one’s more silly than hopeful, but it’s still a joyful thing to behold.

There are more, but those are some of things I’ve been hearing and seeing. I had to stop and think of them, but it didn’t take me long. So what about you? What good things have you heard and seen?

So I invite you now to be still for a moment, and see in your mind one experience – one thing that has happened, that you have seen or heard, that has brought good news to you in these last few weeks.

And when you have it in mind, I want you to turn to someone near you and share it, and to hear what they tell you. Yes! Talk to each other here for just a few moments about good news.

…. 

These are all signs of God in our midst. Sometimes, and especially at Christmas, darkness can overwhelm us. But Isaiah talks about how the desert will rejoice and blossom, blooming like the crocus. There’s what we are supposed to do: to look for the blossoms – to hold them up for others to see. We prepare the way for Christ to come, we prepare the way for others to meet God, by sharing and telling the good news. So do some more of it. Go home today and tell another person, someone in your home or on your street. Go to work tomorrow and tell someone there, or to the store for your errand and tell someone there. You don’t have to say much. You don’t even have to call it God. Just share a piece of the good that is going on in us and around us. Make the desert bloom for others. Prepare the way.