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S. Advent 3.24 Luke 7:18-35

And John, calling his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’

And here is a notorious crux in the bible, a bit of a mystery. Simply put: is John asking this question for himself, or is he asking for his friends?

It’s a divisive question that changes rather dramatically how we see the 4runner (amazing product placement for Toyota there!) of the Christ. Is he a rock that never wavers, or is he, sometimes, a reed shaken by the high winds in Jamaica, er… Judea?

The early and medieval church—up through the 16th century sides mostly with “asking for a friend” the rock that never wavers take. But modern Christendom (roughly 18th century on) mostly sides with reed asking for himself (while giving cover for his shakiness by sending friends to make the actual ask).

The one thing both sides agree on is that it can’t be both ways! Either John is an unshakable rock who always only helps his friends, or… he’s a reed shaken by the wind who, when the chips are down, needs saving himself and so offers little help to anyone else.

But… and those of you familiar with this channel will probably guess what I’m about to say to the “rock asking for a friend, or the shaken (not stirred!) reed asking for himself?” question. Lutherans? YES!

And I’m quite serious. I think a Lutheran YES! is the answer. But I’ve only thought that for the last week, or so, truth be told. Previously, I was firmly on the modern side (I know, not my usual team) that John’s only asking for himself—because he’s getting blown around here a bit, being in prison, facing almost certain death—while Jesus is healing Roman centurion’s servants, raising the dead in Galilean backwater towns and leaving the 4runner who blazed the trail for Israel to receive him to rot in prison and die.

I mean, John knows: ain’t nothin’ but a thang for Jesus to swing by the prison, do the two-finger Jedi mind trick wave on the guards, “This is not the prophet you’re looking for. You can let John go…” and viola! John would be free, Herod would be gobsmacked, all Israel impressed, and John could help Jesus out some more… (‘cause doesn’t Jesus look like he needs help? 😉

OK. Maybe I’m projecting a little bit, here? But, if you’ve done this preaching Christ and him crucified gig for a few years, single-minded on that—like John the Baptist, well then; maybe you relate to John a bit too much? After all John’s insistence that the church is a Sinner’s Anonymous Group, single-mindedly focused on the forgiveness of sins, just idolizing Jesus, worshiping him like he’s God or something, got him in the trouble we find him in this morning.

John denounced the Sadducees for turning the temple from a place of forgiveness and Divine Service into a religious Disney-land for personal profit. He denounced the Pharisees for running a Ponzi marketing scheme, selling salvation, proselytizing the Gentiles (whom Israel was supposed to leave strictly alone) by social networking groups and promises of prosperity for joining.

Strictly hypothetically, let’s say… you’ve also pointed out that the modern LCMS’s love of “missions” is an unbiblical Pharisee style Ponzi scheme selling cut-rate baby-sitting for toddlers to seniors, social interest groups of all sorts, and pop concerts to please instead of the old Divine Service to forgive sins—all debt financed by LCEF, smoke and mirrors that has little or nothing to do with Jesus and his love.

And, for that single-minded focus on Jesus and his love, you’ve not gotten a lot of love! One DP tells you his “vision” is to see your church shut down, the valuable property sold to finance the debt of your happy-clappy daughter churches and you out of the ministry. John’s question why Jesus puts up with this shtuff seems… heartfelt!

But!… the minute you say that, you realize that, like you, John can hear himself—hears the tiny little violins whining just for him, and is immediately embarrassed at the pity party he’s thrown for himself. And he bucks, up straightens up, realizes that’s not what he really thinks, not how he really feels. His heroes: David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, endured hardship and strife—far worse than he has! But… (not a small but 😉 when the chips are down, and things are at their very worst, God is at his very best. And, when all you have is Christ’s love and mercy to fall back on, well; you feel like Lou Gehrig making his farewell speech: ‘some say I caught a bad break, but today, today; I feel like the luckiest, luckiest, man in the world’… 😉

And so does John. And he sees his poor vicars (one from each seminary) need some bucking up. And, with an inward smile, he envisions the blast they’ll have with Jesus when they ask him: “Hey, Jesus! Our vicarage supervisor sent us to ask a question: are you really the Messiah or should we look for another one?” That’ll be fun, for everyone!

I can think of another Rock, whom Jesus nicknamed Cephas, literally “Stone” (great name, like the bass player in Pearl Jam) who could go from Rock on which the church is built to reed shaken (not stirred!) by the gentlest breeze—Simon Peter! He literally went from the first confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, to saying “Rubbish!” to the cross thing, in like… five minutes! And Jesus changes Simon’s nickname from Rock to Satan—just as quick-like!

Or King David, the clearest picture in the OT of what the NT Messiah looks like. Riding high, King over Israel—after long years on the run as a fugitive, and then: David totally loses the plot! Adultery with Bathsheba, and then covers it up by murdering her husband (one of his most loyal lieutenants and best fighters, BTW). Rock to reed… ‘Boom, like that’!

What’s it mean, Jesus saying: John is the greatest born of women but; the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he? Maybe that “all the very BEST of us/ string ourselves up for love…”wobble sometimes, lose the Way? And maybe God lets it happen so we can see the answer to our Question: “Sinner or saint?” is always a Lutheran YES! ‘He who would be great among you, let him be last, slave of all…’

Our Gospel this morning ends with a… warning. Jesus says: “this generation is like children sitting in the marketplace, calling, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep’.

John’s on the edge of that here, I think, as you probably are, more days than you’d like to admit. We think we know what Jesus needs to do, for us, today; but, really, we don’t! Some day’s it’s: ‘the din of battle; the next, the victor’s song’. You never can tell with Jesus. One thing we do know: whether mighty rocks or shaky reeds, Jesus will be our good Lord, and will work all things for Peace, surpassing all understanding, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Even so; come, Lord Jesus. Amen.