“Lent”
as we all know means “to spring forth”, which implies that in our liturgical calendar
of the Church, if Lent is the time to spring forth and bloom in our faith, then
one can derive that Advent is the time “to sow the seeds of faith”, and
therefore this Advent challenges us to sow the seeds of ‘hope’, so that we can
look forward for flowers of new hope and the harvest of new hope in the days to
come.
Today
we live in situations of hopelessness, where people and creation are yearning
for hope to be breathed into them. “What is oxygen to human life, hope is for
Christian faith”, has been a very well known truth in the lives of Christians’
faith journey. As we observe Advent this year, we have been challenged to
reflect on the ‘advent of new hope’. The text from Matthew 11: 2-6, brings into
light four levels of hope expressed in knowing Christ.
- Hope
Proceeds from Hearing Christ (2 V)
John
the Baptizer, who baptized Jesus Christ, on hearing about his works when he was
in the prison, expressed his hope, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. The whole world
under the Roman Empire in his time was awaiting a Messiah as the only hope to
liberate the people from all bondages and clutches. The hope in John was proceeded
only by hearing Christ. As Paul writes, “So faith comes from what is heard, and
what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:17). Therefore the
hope in John has led him to enquire Christ.
- Hope
Progresses from Hearing to Enquiring Christ (2-3V)
John
on hearing about the works of Christ the Messiah couldn’t stop but sent forth
his disciples to enquire whether Christ was the one to come or whether they
have to wait for another. There is a progression in hope, because hearing leads
to clarification or questioning to know the right. Though bodily John was
imprisoned, his spirit was at liberty, therefore has the spirit to enquire and
to know the truth and sent forth his disciples to find out the Messiah. On
hearing he exercises the hermeneutics of enquiry in the Messianic identity of
Jesus Christ.
- Hope
Strengthens from Enquiring to Knowing Christ (4v)
The
enquiring spirit is led to knowing Christ. As they enquired about the identity
of Jesus Christ’s Messianic role, they were led by Jesus Christ to hear and see
with their own senses the Messianic works of Jesus Christ. The knowledge of the
disciples of John has increased by leaps and bounds on knowing Christ very
closely. Knowing Christ is to visualize Christ’s works, to feel Christ’s power
and to experience Christ’s strength. The hope of Christ as the Messiah deepened
as they saw the liberation of people from several bondages. Bondages in every
sphere of life was the order of the day, and hope of liberation was a distant
dream to those people then, but the advent of Christ revealed that hope was no
longer a mirage, but a true reality which is at hand. Christ as the messiah was
the hope, and Christ as the liberator was the fulfillment.
- Hope
Sustains from Knowing to Witnessing Christ (4-6 v)
John’s
disciples knew Christ as the hope who liberates people from their chains of
oppression, heard from Christ to ‘Go and tell to John what they heard and saw’.
Hope does not end in just knowing or hearing or seeing Christ, but rather hope
is hopeful only when witnessed, so that hope is alive and only on witnessing,
hope is experienced. Hope is a
continuous reality, every stage of history people have been waiting to see the
fulfillment of hope. And therefore, the role of every Christian believer is to
carry forward such a hope that Christ is the liberator and sustainer of life.
If we as Christians are not carrying such a legacy, then we end up in hopeless
situations. Therefore the task of every reader today is to be heirs of hope,
which is in knowing and witnessing Christ.
As
we meditate on this text in this season of Advent, we are challenged to be the
channels of new hope, who is none other but Jesus Christ and to his work of
setting at liberty all that are oppressed. In today’s situations of
hopelessness, the world is in need of a new hope. When there is a huge exile of
people fleeing away from wars, poverty and violence, as refugees, what is hope
for them? When nearly 180 million and more Dalits are oppressed in the name of
caste for several ages, what is hope? When several people in Chennai have lost
lives due to the deluge and torrential floods, cause by poor urban planning
coupled with human greed, what is hope? When there is growing intolerance on
minorities by majoritarian fundamentalism, where is hope? When our earth is
groaning with several imbalances in the creation, what is hope? When violence is
growing deep into the nook and corner of the society, what is new hope? When
exclusion, discrimination, exploitation, marginalization etc. are on the rise,
from where does our hope come from? When counties are voting for a decision to
bomb other countries, where is hope? … Knowing Christ, perhaps is the hope, and
knowing Christ is to witness Christ, and knowing Christ is speaking truth and
knowing Christ is to live as Christ and knowing Christ is to strive for
liberation and justice, no matter to the extent of giving up our lives. There
is hope in knowing Christ.
As Jurgen Moltmann says, “The motive that impels modern reason to know must be described as the
desire to conquer and dominate. For the Greek philosophers and the Fathers of
the church, knowing meant something different: it meant knowing in wonder. By
knowing or perceiving one participates in the life of the other. Here knowing
does not transform the counterpart into the property of the knower; the knower
does not appropriate what he knows. On the contrary, he is transformed through
sympathy, becoming a participant in what he perceives.” By
knowing Christ, we are called to be transformed and join with Christ as a
co-participant in the sufferings of the people and creation for their
liberation and transformation.
Hope
is to be shown in action, by opening our doors and hospitality to the
strangers, by addressing system changes for climate change, by being and
becoming peace-makers, and by living out justice, driving away injustices from
our contexts. You are the hope the world is looking for, and become that hope.
Raj Bharath
Patta
Second
Sunday in Advent 2015
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