Is He the One…

          I don’t believe that there are any stupid questions.  I have not always believed that though.  I have asked plenty of questions that I feared I should know the answer to without asking.

          Surely we’ve all been in a classroom, or a meeting, or just in conversation, and suddenly had a question spring up in our minds, but instead of raising a hand to ask, or just coming out with it we’ve hesitated.  And in our hesitation we’ve been overcome with a sort of disabling feeling of self-consciousness which makes us sit on our question.

          Our internal dialogue goes something like this, “Hmmm.  Have we already talked about this? Did I zone out and miss something?  Man, I’ve got to pay better attention!  I wonder if their suspicion that I am a complete fool will be confirmed by this silly question.  No.  Wait, this is a good question.  I bet they are wondering the same thing.  Ahh, I’ll just ask Sally in private after the meeting is over.”  And so we hang onto our question, and we look for another way to get the answer we’re after.  

Of course, not everyone is so self-conscious.  I am always grateful for those extroverted folks among us who don’t filter their questions through a mask of insecurity.  They just ask away without a second thought, and they usually ask precisely the question I want to ask but can’t because I am trapped by my foolish fear of looking silly.

          John the Baptist is trapped and sitting in prison when a question springs up in his mind.

John sends word from his prison cage to Jesus asking, “Are you the one who we have been waiting for, or should we wait for someone else?”

          Now, this should be the king of all silly questions.

          John’s question is from the 11^th chapter of Matthew’s gospel account.

          Well, way back in the third chapter (remember?) John recognized Jesus by the river’s edge, and John even baptized Jesus after which as the gospel goes, the heavens were opened and the “Spirit of God [descended] like a dove.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” 

          And still John asks, “Are you the One?”

          What are we to think?  Do we suppose that John has short term memory loss, and that he has forgotten that baptismal scene with the voice of God, the dove descending, and the Son of God?  Or are we to conclude that John is just dense and that though he remembers, he doesn’t understand, and so he’s waiting for a clearer sign?  Or is he that slacker kid in the back of the classroom who’s dozed off and missed most of the lecture, and is now asking the dumbest question with the most obvious answer?

          I don’t think we’re meant to suppose anything like those three options.  Rather, I think Matthew is suggesting precisely that there are no dumb questions about Jesus Christ.      

          A few years ago I decided that I do not believe that there are any stupid questions.  If I want to ask a question, I try to just ask it.  If I don’t know the answer I try (this is a hard one!) my level best to say, “I don’t know.”

          That decision, when I made it, was like being released from captivity.  Like being liberated from a jail cell of uncertainty and insecurity so that I could journey deeper into the wonderful world of unanswered questions rather than being held a prisoner to fear.

          The teachers and speakers in the room can probably picture what a persons face looks like when they ask what they perceive to be a dumb question.

          A lot of times when folks ask a question that they think everyone knows the answer too, their face will contract and become tight with insecurity.  They might duck their head a bit purse their lips and squint their eyes as if they are expecting to be hit and are bracing themselves for the coming blow.  But, if the teacher says in response to their question, “Oh, good question!” or “Yes you’re right!” then the tension is released and the person who asked the question relaxes and breathes full breaths.

          I think John asks the question that releases the tension.  That is, asks the question that all of us, indeed all of the world wants to ask and longs to know the answer to.

          Jesus, Are you the one? 

And it’s not a stupid question at all.  We all know more of the stories about Jesus than John did right? (He died before Easter)…. and still we have the question – Jesus, Are you the one?

            I think Matthew is trying to tell us that that question is essential to our faith journey.  Jesus certainly didn’t think it was a silly question.  Jesus went directly on to say that John was among the greatest men who had ever lived after he asked the question.

          The point is – questions are essential.  Questions are particularly essential for Christian folk.  Our questions move us along the way into the presence of answers like the one Jesus gave John.  Jesus didn’t just say, “Yes.”  That answer would be simple and boring and might not lead us to the next question.

          So Jesus said, (well, I like to imagine he said, “Good question!” first, and then), “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.”

          Now, aren’t we glad John asked!  Because now I have a follow-up question.

          Jesus, how can we get involved in that answer?  Can you cure my blindness?  Can you heal my stopped up hearing?    Can you raise me up from my dead ways?  Can you lay good news on my poor spirit?

          There are no dumb questions.  Advent, the preparation time, is a great time for questions.    As we prepare for Christmas and our celebration of God among us, it might just be the thing to ask John’s question over and over again.  Jesus, are you the one? 

          And then ask whatever comes on your heart next.  How can I become involved with you Lord Christ?  What do you want for my life, O’ Holy God?  Where are you, O’ God?  What would you have me do?

          God longs to hear our voices ring out with questions.  After all, questions lead to answers.  All our questions are good questions. 

          So, relax and ask away, and then let’s go quiet and listen for answers.  Maybe they’ll come like doves descending from heaven above.  Maybe the answer will come like a question that leads to an answer again and then on to another question.

          Who knows?  There’s only one way to find out so here goes.  Jesus, are you the one?  Amen.