" When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his followers to Jesus with this question, "Are you the One who is to come, or should we look for another?" Jesus said to them in reply, ' Go and tell John what you hear and see: 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.' As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, 'What did you go out to the desert to see? To see a prophet? This is the one about whom it is written: 'Behold I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.' " [Matthew 11: 2-11].
Jesus is coming. Every Advent, we celebrate this blessed event again.
Imagine what it was like for the people of Jesus' time to confront Him and to determine who He really was?
John the Baptist had come along before the Christ, cleansing those who would follow Him, by baptism in the river Jordan. People were asking John the Baptist, was HE the Christ? But John replied, " I am baptizing you with water, but the One who will comes after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals." [Matthew 3: 1-12].
Sometimes, people wonder whom to believe?
Prophets speak and people listen. But Jesus reveals His true place as the Christ, by the miraculous changes that can be seen and felt and heard in His followers.
In Isaiah 35: 1-6A, 10, we are told, " Here is your God, He comes with vindication; with divine
recompense He comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be
cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing. "
Remember, dear friends, that as a young child, I was so downcast by the cruelties of my family, by the severe traumas and their utter lack of compassion, that I stopped speaking.
I was fed only intermittently. I began To tell myself that I was not hungry anyway.
I was told that there was no God. I took my Faith underground, because I was afraid that they could take my Faith away. After a time, I became blind to God, because I half -feared, and half -believed, that God did not exist.
I hid in my room and determined to make no sudden moves. I learned to walk noiselessly. Maybe that way, I would be safe. After a time, a sibling would sometimes lock me in my room. I was a prisoner in my own room.
My family controlled what I would eat, what colors I would wear, what I would believe, what I would study in school, who my friends were. I was oppressed in my own family.
But God sent people into my life to help me. These were Christians, who loved peace and who believed in helping strangers. Eventually, I met the Catholic man who would become my husband.
Nowadays, you can see that I no longer have to be anxious about where my next meal is coming from. " The Lord gives food to the hungry." [ Psalm 146: 6-7].
After I married, I started wearing a cross around my neck openly, and attending church. I began to understand that no one can take my Faith away. " The Lord keeps Faith forever." [ Psalm 146: 6-7].
As I moved away from my unjust childhood home, I was treated as a precious daughter by my husband's family. "The Lord secures justice for the oppressed." [ Psalm 136: 6-7].
I escaped those times of being confined to my room. "The Lord sets captives free." [Psalm 146: 6-7].
I studied the Bible and began to really see the hand of Jesus, and the Grace of God, everywhere in my life. "The Lord gives sight to the blind." [Psalm 146: 8-9].
I began to be less depressed, and more serene and even joyful. "The Lord raises up those who were bowed down." [Psalm 146: 8-9].
A friend has watched me go through all this. She says that I am being transformed before her very eyes.
I am speaking again! I am speaking the Word of God now. I embody the miraculous transformations, that you can see and feel and hear and touch. I was once a Ghost, someone who did not eat or speak or feel or sleep or make any audible noise or occupy space. I am a human being who was once lost, and is now saved.
In this space, I am nameless and faceless. I give you neither my name nor my photo.
It does not matter who I am. I am only the messenger for God. I speak for Him, and for His awesome power in my life. There is One so much greater than I am.
You cannot see Jesus directly. But you can see Him in the face of everyone who believes in Him and who speaks His praise and His Word.
I am the voice of one, crying out for The Lord.
I am the messenger.
By my transformation, I AM the message!
[Related Posting: " I Will Not Be Silent", January 23, 2013; " I Speak The Lord"s Name", February 19, 2013.]
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