Matthew 11-12 Go tell John what you hear and see

December 19th. Matthew 11-12

       This story with John the Baptist always surprises me on one hand. On the other hand... I get it. When you find yourself in prison, alone, isolated, unaware of what is going on outside(I assume he didn't have internet access or CNN) you wonder if this thing you were called to is really happening.
       I prepared the way...or did I prepare the way. Life gets hard and you begin to wonder, or is it that you begin to wander. John finds himself needing a little affirmation. Jesus, are you the one who is to come, or is there someone else? Sometimes the brave are the only ones to ask the questions everyone else is thinking.
       I love Jesus response. It's very typical. Not a direct answer and yet it is. Jesus could have just said yes, I am the one, but his response is the response of a second step.
       It's an answer of witness, "Go back  and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who doesn't stumble on account of me."
        We try to talk people into believing in Jesus. Here's what I know, because of my attention to Christ I am not who I was. I've learned to love, serve, give, rejoice, hope. I have a rock that grounds me when things swirl around, I know who I am, I found strength, I gave up much and I received more.


Go tell John what you hear and see.