Whether from St. Matthew or St. Luke, depending on which lectionary is being followed, this past Sunday we heard the poignant account of St. John the Baptist in prison, and how he sent his disciples to ask the Lord Jesus whether He was the coming and expected One, or whether they should be watching and waiting for someone else. This is a powerful Holy Gospel, and one of my favorites for a variety of reasons, but it is not without its challenges and difficulties.
Over the years I’ve tracked the discussions and debates about whether St. John were doubting the Lord or simply engaging in a clever pedagogical tactic for the sake and benefit of the disciples he sent on this errand. I’ve never been entirely comfortable with that second option, although there clearly is some truth to the idea that St. John intended his disciples to gain something and learn something from Jesus. I spent some years wrestling with the prospect of St. John’s own doubts and fears, as he languished in Herod’s prison – continuing to preach, evidently (St. Mark 6:20), but ultimately beheaded precisely because of his faithful preaching (St. Mark 6:16-18, 22-28).
Over time I came to understand what’s going on with St. John in this Holy Gospel somewhat differently, and I’ve become increasingly convinced of this way of thinking about it ever since: St. John knows who Jesus is, and I believe the Words of our Lord concerning St. John confirm his faithfulness and steadfastness (St. Matthew 11:9-15; St. Luke 7:26-28). Having been sent by God to preach and point to the Christ, and having witnessed the Baptism of our Lord, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Him, and the voice of God the Father from heaven attesting to His divine Sonship (St. Matthew 4:13-17), St. John recognized that Jesus is the Christ, the Lord’s Anointed, the Son of God, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (St. John 1:29-34).
Yet, for all that, St. John was also a man of flesh and blood, a sinner and a mortal human being like all the rest of us. And it would be a “theology of glory” to suppose that he never struggled with any doubts or fears or weaknesses of faith and life. The greatest of those born of women is not greater than the least in the Kingdom of heaven (St. Matthew 11:11). I’ve often considered that we are all, to some extent, like that father at the foot of the Mountain of Transfiguration: “Lord, I believe! Help, Thou, my unbelief!” (St. Mark 9:24).
What, then? Because St. John knows who Jesus is – and because he also knows what he needs to sustain his own faith and life, especially in the face of sin and death – he sends his disciples to hear and receive and bring back to him a Word from Jesus! And that is what Jesus delivers to His servant, St. John! He sends those disciples to “go and tell John” what Jesus is saying and doing (St. Matthew 11:2). This is exactly what St. John needs. And this is exactly what all of us need.
It is not a lack of faith that looks to Jesus and asks for a Word of the Gospel from Him, including especially that very Word that we “already know.” It is not a lack of faith that seeks to hear and receive His Word from those whom the Lord Jesus sends to speak on His behalf. No, this is what faith does, even (and especially) in the midst of great frailty and weakness, both in gladly hearing and learning His Word and the preaching of it, and in availing ourselves of His Holy Absolution.
And sometimes, as I have pointed out to those I am privileged to teach and preach to, it is from our own “disciples” – from the parishioners entrusted to our pastoral care and catechesis – that we are also privileged to hear and receive a comforting and encouraging Word from Jesus. How often have I been strengthened and sustained by a Word of the Gospel echoed back to me by the same people I have spoken to in the Name of Christ Jesus! This is a precious gift, when the dear people of God return to their pastor the very Word of Jesus which they have heard from him.