On this third Sunday of Advent, as we continue to prepare ourselves for the birth of the Christ Child, the assigned reading from the prophet Isaiah expresses the hope of a people in exile, dispersed and discouraged. In the lush images of the prophet, we hear the promise of God's time. In place of arid desert, flowers and forests bloom. In place of ravening beasts, a highway is prepared for the pure and the wise. In this promised time to come, God provides strength for the weak, courage for the fearful, healing and vision and wholeness for the blind, the deaf and the lame. And when this time comes, the prophet announces, those whom the Lord has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy. They will meet with joy and gladness. Sorrow and mourning will flee. Now, the gospel writer Matthew turns Isaiah's hope for the time of God's gracious intervention into a person, who comes to redeem God's people and, indeed, the whole creation. But wait. The very one who last week was out in the wilderness of Judea calling forth from the people the memory of Isaiah's promise, preaching the message of repentance and baptizing the multitudes in the river Jordan, this same John is found today in prison. Punished for his radical message. Behind bars. The troops of King Herod had been threatened enough by this prophet to retaliate and suppress. And John surely would have been tired now, tormented by disappointment and doubt. Had his work been in vain? His life wasted? Was he facing defeat or might a different form of victory still be made manifest? Matthew writes: "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 shall we look for another?" You and I overhear this exchange again on the third Sunday of Advent as we rush forward to get ready for the birth. We're singing the songs and wrapping the gifts. Trimming the tree and sipping the wassail and decking the halls. Yet in our hearts, if we're honest, still resides that crazy mix of absolute certainty that we know what all this is about AND all of our nagging questions and doubts about the meaning of life, the purpose of it all, our own life's direction. All our deepest hope right alongside our persistent cynicism and despair. Our desire to believe and our defenses against looking foolish and naive. Are you the one, Jesus, or shall we look for another? A wise Bible teacher once observed that we really get into the Bible when we let the great questions of Scripture become our questions. Or perhaps it's when we realize that our questions, which seem so urgent and personal and contemporaneous are, in fact, already asked within the pages of the Holy Writ. Are you the one, Jesus, or shall I look for another? Let's ask it another way. Am I going to keep looking around, or am I going to commit and dig in deep with you? Am I going to keep dabbling around here and there, never landing anywhere? Am I going to remain on the edges of this faith stuff or am I going to go for the heart of the matter? Are you the one, Jesus? How do I know? This weekend I was privileged to officiate at the wedding of some dear family friends. The young woman whom I had baptized twenty-something years ago stood face to face with a wonderful young man and I asked them, before God and their families and friends, to state aloud their conviction that they believed each other to be "the one." As we all know, such commitment requires a choice, a leap of faith. It is something that goes far beyond what the eyes can see or the mind can reason. It is a matter of heart and soul. It is a pledge to commit oneself to a relationship and a way of life that, as it is lived forward, will create the future as it unfolds. Today's Scripture readings invite each of us to take a leap of faith and to similarly commit ourselves to a life of faith in Christ Jesus and the Realm of God which he inaugurates. We can learn much from Jesus' response to John's emissaries, or fact-finding commission, we might call them. When asked, "Are you the one?" imagine for a moment how Jesus might have responded. He might have said, "What? My own cousin John doesn't believe in me? If you can't count on your family, who can you count on?" Or, he might have said, "Look, guys. Go read the Bible. Isaiah seems to say that I'm the one." Or he might have reminded them of his baptism, which, of course, John had performed. Remember? That moment when the very voice of God spoke from heaven and said, "I'm the one." Or he might have compiled a list of his accomplishments for them: "I heal and teach and great crowds come. I raised Lazarus from the dead. Obviously, I'm the one." Can you perceive new life budding forth within you and around you? Can you get a glimpse of the new thing that God is doing? These are sometimes small things: a renewed sense of energy and vitality; someone able to sing again; one angry and bitter finding forgiveness and peace; a youth choosing a career of service; one who could barely walk now dancing in joy; finding a way when there seemed to be no way; a rose blooming in the desert. Jesus says, to all of us who doubt, who despair sometimes, who fear, "Pay attention and tell others what you see and hear. Trust what YOU have seen and heard. Trust what you know to be true and beautiful and just. Trust that God will do this. The kingdom of heaven is near. It is within you and it is always springing forth around you." © Patricia E. Farris, 2001. Permission is given for brief quotation with attribution. All other rights reserved.