We
might call it a “Dorothy” moment. We pull the curtain back to find that the
person we trusted, the one we depended on, the one who raised our hopes, has
let us down. We endured the dangers and journey of the “yellow brick road”
because we believed someone’s advice or teaching or wisdom. But then we find
out we don’t really know someone we thought we knew. Dorothy pulled back the
curtain to find a befuddled, helpless old man. We may experience more than
disappointment. We may have our faith truly crushed by betrayal. Our Dorothy
moment may come in the mug shot of a hero splashed across the newspaper. It may
come in the realization of the weakness of someone we considered strong. It may
come in the confession of the beloved pastor, hanging his head, announcing
resignation surrounded by scandal. Just like in The Wizard of Oz, we don’t want to believe what we see or hear.
“How could this happen?” we stammer to no one.
John mistaken?
Our text raises the possibility that
John fears he might have a Dorothy moment and that his hopes might crumble. Not
long before, John had preached with bold certainty that God would send one who
would clear the threshing floor, gather the wheat and burn the chaff.1
Did the fiery prophet hold his breath for a warrior? Anyone who would call the
Pharisees and Sadducees a “brood of vipers”2 took a gamble. Did John
count on God’s coming judgment to back him up? If John belonged with the
Essenes — a sect of Jews who lived apart from others — he would have hated the
Romans, but would he have wanted to grab his sword and go to war? The Essenes
seemed simply to want to get away and form an independent community. Did John
more likely want a Messiah who would bring God’s judgment, a final spiritual
battle that would transform everything, with thos
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