Advent
December 10, 2016

Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:2-11

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘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. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.’ –Matthew 11:2-6

We live in a cynical world, trying to figure out what is real and what is fake news, parsing statistics to mean whatever we want them to mean, and creating a whole new type of information system: the fact/truth checkers. We make many decisions not based on what is right but what is advantageous to us personally. We are becoming a society governed by greed.

Things have not changed much since Jesus’ time. In the first century, there were a lot of people claiming to be the Chosen One, the Messiah. No wonder John wanted some proof of who Jesus was. Jesus’ reply was simply to watch and listen to him and draw their conclusions.

I was compiling a listing of Oklahoma State legislators’ religious preferences recently and discovered that several listed only the world “Christian.” What were they saying about themselves? Others gave long lists of civic memberships but mentioned no connection to religion. And still, others provided full testimonies of their systems of belief. Most listed a congregation in which they participated, perhaps also noting that they were a deacon or elder or Sunday school teacher. Some think their legislation reflects their religion, but do they ever stop to see what results from their laws?

What can you go and tell others you have seen and heard regarding Jesus Christ engaged in our world today? A Facebook friend described recently seeing a man running up to a homeless person on the sidewalk with a sign that said he needed food. The man handed him food. What can you go and tell you have seen and heard Christ do today? We are the Body of Christ, and people are watching to see if we are the real deal.

Prayer: Lord, help us to live our lives fully reflecting your love to the whole world.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.