Simply Shaking Hands

            We lost Nelson Mandela this week.  It wasn’t unexpected, he has been ill for a long time, was 95, and obviously near the end of his life.  The world has gathered in South Africa to pay tribute to him.  Four American presidents, including Barack Obama came to the service that honored his legacy.  There have been many wonderful things said about this great man who brought freedom to many in South Africa, but what has surprised me greatly has been the continued use of accusation against him.  He was called a terrorist by Dick Cheney, and a Marxist and a communist by others.  They repeated these things in this past week.  The surprising thing is that these comments didn’t diminish the beauty of Nelson Mandela one bit; instead they reflected very poorly on the people who said them.  And when President Obama shook the hand of Raul Castro at the gathering of heads of state, he was criticized by those who thought that such a gesture would be out of place in this turbulent world where Cuba is seen as an enemy by many Americans. 

            What stood out for me was that this gesture by our president at the Mandela memorial was very much in keeping with the life of the man who was being honored; a man who forgave his captors and did everything in his power to bring the warring factions in his country together after he was released from the prison on Robben Island.  Here was President Obama extending his hand to the leader of Cuba, without expecting anything in return.  It was a healing moment from which nothing will come except good feelings and the possibility of continued discussion, certainly in the image of Nelson Mandela 

            In the gospel lesson today, John the Baptist is in prison knowing that his own end is probably near.  He sends his disciples to Jesus to ask him if he is the one whom he has expected to come, or if they all should look for another.  This seems to me to be a disappointing thing for John to have to do.  His own expectations have been shattered.  He expected a messiah who would overturn the powers in charge and create a heaven on earth.  This is what John had been preaching in the desert and he was obviously disappointed with what Jesus had turned out to be.  Jesus’ reply to John is notable for its elegance: 

                                     Go and tell John what you hear and see:

                                     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. And blessed is anyone who takes no

                                     offense at me.

            John’s disappointment is certainly understandable.  Which of us hasn’t looked at this world at one time or another and wondered why God doesn’t fix it?  There is certainly enough wrong around us to make us wonder what God has in mind with this creation.  I am always amazed that God has put up with so much from us for so long.  We haven’t really been very good stewards of the world that we have been given. 

            Yes, there is a lot wrong; but there are also some wonderful things around us.  We celebrate the life of a man such as Mandela who healed and forgave and brought people together in a country where there had been horrible ripping apart.  The message here is that God is present in the small places of our lives.  When Mary in her song to God after the conception of Jesus, sings of how the lowly have been lifted up and the mighty put down from their thrones, we get a sense of what the real coming of the Messiah meant for her and for us.  This lowly woman was made the greatest in God’s kingdom by the simple act of agreeing to be the mother of God.  There is not a much more awesome moment for me in all of Holy Scripture.  If we want to see God in action in this world, we need to look to the small things that are done to bring us together; to see things like Obama and Castro shaking hands and the life of Mandela celebrated because of the wonder of his forgiveness and his ability to laugh in the face of all of his pain.  God bless us in this Advent season as we wait again for the Messiah.  May our Messiah bring us continued hope and joy.