John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask,
“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
Sometimes it doesn't seem to us that Jesus can truly be the Messiah when we look from the vantage point of our circumstances within the unfolding history of the world. Jesus came promising that to bring freedom, to make those who believed in him "free indeed" (see John 8:36). But then we find either ourselves or, perhaps even more challengingly, our spiritual guides apparently constrained, rendered inert, and seemingly fruitless by the merciless and apathetic situations of life.
When the men came to the Lord, they said,
“John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask,
‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’”
When we face these times that make the promise of the Messiah seem difficult to believe we should do what John the Baptist recommended and seek answers from Jesus himself, the living Word of God.
Go and tell John what you have seen and heard:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
Jesus reminded these disciples that, in spite of appearances, the promises were nevertheless being fulfilled. Fruit was being borne for the Kingdom. Even John, though imprisoned, was not truly constrained, for he was able to hear the answer to his question, the response of the Word of God to a possible doubt. And the very question itself, asked in faith, was able to bear fruit, not only for himself, but also for his troubled disciples who brought him the answer.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.
When we find ourselves in difficulty we often take offense at Jesus and the promise of the Kingdom. It then seems to be nothing more than wishful thinking, an attempt to ignore the grim reality all around us. But this the enemy trying disorient us, an attempt to unsettle our souls from the place where true freedom is found, where true fruit can always manifest. This place was never to be the circumstances, never the wind and the waves, never the peace as offered by the world, but only Jesus himself, and the peace only he can give.
Turn to me and be safe,
all you ends of the earth,
for I am God; there is no other!
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