Are you the one we are expecting?

Fr Paul reads today’s Gospel from Luke (7: 19-23) in which John is languishing in prison and doubts have started to come into his mind. John wants to know what Jesus is doing.

John wants to know if Jesus is the Messiah or not, so he sends his messengers to Jesus and they ask the question, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or do we have to wait for someone else?’

Jesus sends the messengers back to John, basically, saying you have seen all the wonders I can do and, in effect, he is saying his ministry is one of healing and forgiveness. His ministry is fulfilling the promises of the prophecies of Isaiah.

As our Advent journey continues, Fr Paul says, we might reflect on, ‘what doubts might we have in our minds and hearts at the moment?’ He also says, knowing that John turned to Jesus for reassurance, we might also ask ourselves what reassurances do I need as we lead up to and celebrate the birth of Jesus?