No words are really necessary.

Matthew 11:1-6

           When John sends his own disciples to ask Jesus if He is 'the one', Jesus doesn't simply say yes. It would have been so easy I suppose if he did. His answer could have been laid out as plain as can be. "Yes, I am the Messiah".

            Arguments can be made that Jesus did not say the actual words because he knew what the result would have been, a much earlier crucifxtion. Jesus himself noted during his ministry that it was 'not yet his time'. Still Jesus does answer to the faithful in search of the truth. John knew what the answer was from Jesus' statements 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. 

            How many times do we ask or even demand the answer to a question? Think of all the people in our lives, the situations we find ourselves in at home, at work, in the world? How many questions would we like answered?  I can't help but think back to that well known expression "they will know we are Christians by our song". The answer to so many of our questions are in how we act and what we actually see. Forget about words most of the time, what do we see? What answers can we discern by actions?

            Let's look at gay marriage. Most of us know a gay couple, perhaps they have been together 5 or ten years. Some have been quietly living exemplary lives together for 30 and 40 years or more. When someone speaks out against gay marriage, when a church makes pronouncements about how it will harm hetero marriages, people know the truth by the vibrant and committed lives they see in the gay couples they know. No words are really necessary, most people see the truth. There is no difference between the love of a hetero couple or a gay couple. Asking if gay marriage is acceptable and hearing some convoluted explanation why it is wrong does not ring as true as what we see in the  loving committed lives of those we know. 

              On another vein, what are the answers when we ask does the Catholic church care about the children and victims of pedophilia?  Many words are uttered,  positions articulated and yet the answer is plain without words. In fact, the actions speak louder than words. The answer is that there is a fundamental lack of love and a concern for the victims  and that any concern is more for the institution than the victims or individuals.

              I am envisioning an old couple who may  have fallen out of the habit of saying I love you after so many years. Yet their actions to please each other in opening a car door, taking out the trash, making the bed 'just so' or hundred of others small actions say it louder than words ever could. 

           One of my favorite expressions as you may already know is 'to preach the Gospel at all times, use words if necessary'. This is the essence of the response that Jesus gave to John the baptizer. Judge by the actions. No words are really necessary. 

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

Messengers from John the Baptist

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘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 offence at me.’