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In today’s Gospel, we see the great prophet, John the Baptist, send messengers to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” It is amazing to think that this is the same prophet whom Jesus will say is the “greatest born of woman.” It appears that, at the end of his life, after being imprisoned and facing immanent execution, John had some doubts. I like that this passage is there in Scripture, because I think we all have these doubts at some point.
With all the pain and suffering in life, maybe we don’t come to the point of doubting that God exists, but maybe we decide we just don’t like him very much. If God is good and loving, why does he let bad things happen? Or, as a character in a famous musical put it, “More to the point, why do you let bad things to happen to ME?” Suffering is personal and so is our relationship with God. In the face of this, we might be tempted to ask, like John, “Should we look for another?”
Well, to be honest, I think we probably all have looked for “another” at some point to make us feel better. There are the usual suspects of power, pleasure, and money… but you insert whatever your experience has shown. When we have tried to find solace in “another” other than God, how did that turn out? Not too well on my part. You see, none of those temporary remedies can really satisfy us in any lasting way. We desire a permanent solution to pain, suffering, and ultimately death itself. And for that, there is no other than God.
Today’s Mass begins with a quote from St. Paul to the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” What we celebrate at Christmas is not a Messiah that banishes all suffering and illness. Jesus healed almost no one just counting the numbers. Rather, he showed us that he really is God. His answer to John indicates that God has come among us. Or, as St. Paul puts it, “The Lord is near.” Near here means so close you can reach out an grab it. It’s tangible.
This is why we can rejoice always. We can’t expect to be happy all the time. But the word rejoice means that we can have joy even in suffering when we know that it has meaning. If God doesn’t meet our expectations, that just means that our expectations need to change. And the good news is that he will always give us way more than we expected. He truly is “the one” and we don’t have to look for another.