Hard Questions for Christ

 

Breonna Taylor

Scripture

 Matthew 11:1-6

11 Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.

² When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples ³ and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” ⁴ Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. ⁶ And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”  (NRSV)

Devotion

 Today's reading shows us a different side of John the Baptist than what we find in Luke 3.  A lot has transpired since Jesus's baptism.  As John's fame had grown, powerful people had begun to take notice of what he was saying...and they didn't like one bit of it.  Now has been thrown in prison for stirring up the people and speaking out against King Herod.  John had known the risks, but his zeal to prepare the way of the LORD had led him onward.  And so he sits in his cell, depending on his disciples to keep him fed and knowing full well that Herod will probably kill him.  

This isn't what John had expected when he began preaching that the Messiah was coming.  John's earlier statements lead one to believe that he envisioned Jesus sweeping in and quickly establishing his throne in the upside-down Kin-dom of God.  Everything would swiftly for the better, and the Messiah would get rid of everyone opposed to God's justice, mercy, and love.  How, then, did John get to this terrible place?  A confused and disillusioned John sends his servants to ask Jesus a question: is he you really the one to come, or do John and the rest of the people have to keep waiting?

John's questions hit home with me today.  You see, I lived in Louisville, Kentucky for four years, and I've spent the past several months watching people I care about peacefully protest the death of Breonna Taylor.  Breonna's death and the way the case has been handled has shone a spotlight on horrific problems within the justice system and LMPD.  

I know many faithful Christians (including friends, professors, pastors, and former parishioners) in and around Louisville who have been putting their lives on the line as they have spoken the Truth to Power.  They have been threatened, called names, kettled, gassed, and shot with rubber bullets.  And yet they continued to show up.  They've held racial justice-oriented worship services at gas stations and donned their clergy collars as they filmed interactions between protestors, counter-protestors, and police.   They knew that they were fighting an uphill battle, but they held onto a sense of hope that this time would be different...that this time, God's justice would roll down like water and God's righteousness would flow like a never-ending stream. They are my heroes.  

Today, the Grand Jury indicted one police officer for endangering Breonna's neighbors but refused to indict anyone for killing her.  Even as city workers began put up new roadblocks, scores of hurt and hurt and angry people who had gathered downtown began to march.  The sense of dread has grown as convoys of troopers began converging on the city from other parts of Kentucky, and encounters between protestors and police escalated. I've been sent cell-phone footage law enforcement officials in riot gear using physical violence on peaceful protestors marching down immaculate streets in broad daylight.  As the sun began to set, one activist wrote on Twitter, "Go home.  They will kill you tonight."  Two officers have been shot...and the night is still young.

As we bear witness to the inevitable outcome of  state power arriving to quell the voices of angry and disillusioned truth-tellers, I keep thinking that this isn't the way it was supposed to be.  Where is Christ when the people who are supposed to protect communities are called out to force protestors to the ground or lie bleeding in the street?  How does anyone proclaim God's justice on days like today?  I would love nothing more to then send someone to ask Jesus if he plans to step in or if the people of Louisville need to wait for someone else.

Jesus's response to John's disciples offers me a strange sense of comfort.  Jesus tells them to go back and tell John what they've seen.  The sick and infirm are healed, the dead are raised, and good news has come to the poor.  Jesus may not be doing exactly what John expected him to, but he is still the Messiah.  His Kin-dom is coming into being even as John suffers and doubts.  John may not live to see that Kin-dom fully revealed, but he can trust that his ministry has not been in vain. The day of the Lord is indeed at hand.  John's faithful witness to God's truth has helped bring this moment into being.

So how is the Jesus's Kin-dom being revealed tonight?  The Messiah reigns everywhere that people pick one another up off the street...or bind up a wound...or continue to spread Good News by demanding justice.  Christ is with reporters and pastors and other witnesses...with medical teams and volunteers running portable eyewash stations.  And his coming Kin-dom can be partially glimpsed in local and state officials' promise to reform the justice system and law enforcement practices.  None of these things make up for Breonna's death.  None of them make everything right.  And they do not keep people out of harm's way tonight.  Still, these kinds of moments reveal ways in which the Kin-dom of God is growing and being made manifest among us.  We do not need to wait for another.  The Messiah is at work here and now.

My heart may be in Louisville tonight, but the same message rings true around the world.  Great injustices can be found everywhere.  When people seeking to right those wrongs find themselves beaten down or attacked, it is only natural to feel discouraged.  And yet, even when things seem at their worst, we trust that the Messiah is at work in ways we may not have first noticed.  He is here, and his Kin-dom is growing.  The hatred and injustice of the world's Herods may look like they are winning at the moment, but they will not last forever.

Beloved, when the night is long and your path seems full of trials, be not discouraged.  He may not be acting quite as you expect him to, but Christ is here.  Like John in his prison cell, can find hope in the news that his Kin-dom is being revealed even as we speak.  And though it may be difficult to see from time to time, our faithful witness is preparing the way for it.

 

 Prayer

Messiah, we ask that you wrap your arms around all who suffer as they seek to proclaim your Good News.  Protect and guide them.  Help them to recognize the ways your Kin-dom is being established among us.  And may we see the day when it is fully revealed on Earth.  Amen.