Things are not going well for John the Baptist in today's gospel. We're in the middle of Advent, joy is everywhere, and what are the first lines of today's gospel? "From prison, John the Baptist heard of the works of Christ."
John the Baptist had given everything to God. He had left his home and his family. He lived in total poverty – we can get used to hearing that that he wore clothes made of camel's hair and he ate locusts and wild honey, but imagine what a camel's hair shirt would feel like… It's not exactly an Armani suit. And even if you eat them with honey, locusts are still bugs.
John the Baptist had preached the Kingdom of God; he had given everything to prepare the way for Jesus. And what's his apparent reward? He's in prison. It seems that God is hidden from him. He hears about the miracles that Jesus is doing, and yet he remains in prison.
He sends his friends to ask the most important question; everything hinges on this question. He asks Jesus: "Who are you?" "Are you the meaning of my life? Are you the mercy of God made visible? I have given everything – even my freedom – for God. Are you his face among us?"
And the answer that Jesus gives to John's question can seem a bit cryptic. He doesn't say, "Obviously… Of course, I'm the one who is to come. All your difficulties and sufferings are over!"
Jesus is not a toothpaste advertisement - he doesn't say "buy my product and all your problems will disappear." Instead, he says something rather strange. He says: "Tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed…"
Jesus is telling John, "You don't have to understand everything. You're not God. All I ask is that you listen and look at what I've done and continue to do in your life and in the lives of others."
We all have our John the Baptist moments, when nothing seems clear, when Christmas may seem far away. And in those moments, Jesus is telling us, "Look, and listen."
St John of the Cross
On December 14 we celebrate the feast of St John of the Cross, a Carmelite Spanish saint from the 16th century.
Towards the end of his life, some members of his Carmelite religious order were unhappy with the reforms he was bringing about. They kidnapped him and put him in a dungeon for almost a year.
One of his spiritual directors found out about it and wrote him a letter to express her horror. And St John's answer embodies someone who had learned to look and listen.
"Do not let what is happening to me, daughter, cause you any grief, for it does not cause me any… Men do not do these things, but God, who knows what is suitable for us and arranges things for our own good. Think nothing else but that God ordains all, and where there is no love, put love, and you will draw out love."
Learning to See
Here's one vital way to learn to look and listen to what God is doing in our lives. Thank him.
Each night before we go to bed, let's commit to thanking God for at least one thing that day.
Let's make it serious, not just "Thanks for creating Starbucks…" But let's thank him for at least one way that he acted in our lives through an event or through another person.
Christ is reminding each one of us to remember what we have seen and heard. Thanking him each day, from our hearts, will help us to grow in that.