This is the third week of our Advent message series we are calling Grace and Truth.
The word “Advent” means arrival. The arrival of Jesus is the arrival of grace and truth
into our lives. Grace, we learned, is God’s unmerited gift to us. It is not something that
we can buy or earn, it is the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to
His call. But, God does not force His grace on us, we must cooperate with Him to
receive His grace into our hearts. Before we can receive God’s grace, we first need to
acknowledge the place of truth. Truth we said is about reality. Being truthful means that
we can grow and mature, learning from our mistakes. You might say that truth is about
“cold, hard facts”. Jesus tells us that He is the Way, the Truth, and the life. The deepest
truth, my friends, is that we are loved by God. If we put too much focus on the grace, we
may have a hard time acknowledging our own sin. But, if we focus only on the hard
truth, we run the risk of missing that God’s plan is to take us beyond the cold hard facts
of life. When we recognize that God loves us, then we can face reality and recognize
the need for God’s grace in our lives.

Last week, John the Baptist called for us to look inside ourselves, to repent or recognize
that something in our lives was not working and we needed to turn back to God. In
today’s Gospel we are called to focus our attention outward to the world around us. We
hear that John is in prison. King Herod had John thrown in prison for speaking the truth.
The expectation was that the one John had prepared the way for would rule harshly,
that they would be a severe judge. John has heard of Jesus’ teachings, but they seem
at odds with what he preached. The acts of healing and mercy that John heard of do not
match up to his warning that the one to come would gather the wheat into his barn and
the chaff he would burn with unquenchable fire. John seems discouraged. He had spent
his life preparing the way for the Messiah. John preached in the wilderness wearing a
coat of camel’s hair with a diet of locusts and wild honey. Now the honey might be ok,
but I don’t remember seeing locusts listed in the four main food groups. John is
questioning if it was worth it. It’s a legitimate question, not just for John some two
thousand years ago, but for us today in the 21 st century.

Is it really worth it to follow Jesus? Do our actions really make a difference in people's lives? We come to church each Sunday, we do what we believe is God’s will in our lives and yet we don’t get the job that is a perfect fit, we get passed over for the big promotion, we aren’t picked for the sports team…the spot instead going to someone we know we are better than. And through it all we can feel like our friends and family are not there to listen to us, to support us when we need them the most. It is easy to become discouraged. To ask is it really worth it? I think we all feel that way sometimes. We can easily get discouraged. If this is where you are today, or have been in the past, John the Baptist was there before you, so you’re in pretty good company. St. Teresa of Avila, once said to Jesus in her prayer, “If this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them.”

John sends his followers to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we
look for another?” A pretty straightforward question. But, rather than a simple “Yes”,
Jesus responds with a list of his deeds. A resume of his achievements. The blind regain
their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and
the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. His answer is meant to steady John’s
wavering faith. His words meant to reassure John that his work was not in vain. Was
John suffering and in a difficult situation. Yes. Was it a challenge to follow Jesus? Yes.
Was it worth it? Do our actions make a difference in people's lives and bring them closer to Jesus? Yes.

The truth of Christmas, the truth that Jesus sent back to John the Baptist was that it was
worth it. All of our efforts no matter how small when done to prepare people to meet
Jesus are worth it and will be rewarded.

Here at Resurrection Parish we are starting a Greeter Ministry, to joyfully and sincerely
welcome each person coming to Mass at Resurrection Parish. A gentle smile and
friendly greeting at the front door could just be the difference in that person’s life,
whether they are someone you see each and every week or someone coming to
worship here for the first time. If you would like more information on this new ministry or
think someone would be perfect for this, speak to Father or one of the Deacons. Like
John the Baptist, we can be instruments of God’s grace as we prepare the way for people to receive Jesus into their lives and hearts.